Russell hopes “fantastic” Kubica gets another shot in F1

Kubica made his return to F1 after Kimi Raikkonen tested positive for COVID-19, ruling him out of the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.

The Pole performed solidly in his first two races since 2019, finishing 15th and 14th respectively. 

Russell was teammates with Kubica in 2019 at Williams, finishing behind him in the drivers’ championship. 

“Yeah it's always good to have Robert on the grid,” Russell said after the Italian GP. “Robert’s a fantastic guy, a great driver. I hope he gets another shot in Formula 1. I feel sorry for him because he got thrown in for FP3 onwards at Zandvoort and then he arrived in Monza and it’s a Sprint event and you don’t have the time to improve the car. 

“For any driver that’s very, very difficult. But every time he jumps in he makes the most of the situation, and I think he did a very, very good job this weekend and in Zandvoort. So I hope to see him in Formula 1 again.”

Alfa Romeo has yet to announce who will be partnering Valtteri Bottas at the team for 2022.

Antonio Giovinazzi remains in the frame, while reports suggest that F2 driver Guanyu Zhou is the favourite to take the seat.

Speaking about his F1 future, Kubica said: “That’s a difficult question, to be honest. I have learned from my side that everything can happen day to day – positives, negatives – so never say never. But realistically, I think that there are some other drivers that are higher in the list. 

“I don’t know, you have to ask Fred, you know, I have my racing programme with endurance racing, which, of course, normally I am focusing all attention there. Whatever it will bring, the future, I just have to wait and see.”