Villeneuve: Maybe Kubica sets up the car so it's hard to drive

Thursday, 29 March 2018 at 12:25

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If Jacques Villeneuve was persona non-grata with Williams thanks to derogatory comments he made about the team last year, the feud between him and his former team is likely to ramp even further after the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion suggested that the team's reserve driver Robert Kubica is sabotaging the team.

Outspoken Villeneuve, famous for stirring the pot, told Italian TV, "I find it difficult to come to terms with the situation at Williams. The only one that can unlock the potential of the car is Kubica, and it is Robert who is the driver charged with the development of the car."

“It’s possible that he sets up the car so it's hard to drive for the other drivers. His dream is to race again, not be a third man, I would not underestimate that, and I would do the same in his place,” added Villeneuve.

Kubica, whose F1 career was cut short after a freak rally accident in 2011, was beaten to the Williams race seat this season because he could not match the $15-million budget that Sergey Sitrotkin was able to raise from his backers.

Instead, Kubica is now watching from the sidelines, appointed to the role of Williams reserve driver while the Grove outfit field the youngest driver pairing on the grid this year with Lance Stroll and Sirotkin in their cars.

Robert Kubica