Kubica opens up about WRC team switch

Robert Kubica has shed some light on his split with World Rally Championship squad A-Style, explaining he had 'no other options' but to switch to M-Sport support.

The former F1 Grand Prix winner began the 2015 WRC season as a privateer entry under the A-Style banner but after a dismal run of results he opted for a last-minute pull-out of Rally Argentina so he could restructure his squad.

The Polish driver returned for Rally Portugal with an updated Ford Fiesta RS WRC with support from factory squad M-Sport. As a result he notched up his best result of the year, a ninth place finish, and post-Portugal says he made the decision to switch from A-Style because it was the only suitable setup open to him.

"It's not that I did it because I wanted. The situation came to the place where there were no other options," Kubica told WRC.com. "This car has been built together with the M-Sport guys and we are supported by some M-Sport people."

The BMW and Renault F1 driver has also moved his RK World Rally Team to Italy because of the country's logistical links with the rest of Europe.

The move reconnects previous links with M-Sport, whom he competed with under the RK M-Sport World Rally team banner in 2014 after splitting from the Citroen factory squad.

Reflecting on his ninth place finish at Rally Portugal, the 30-year-old hails it as one of his best career finishes in the premier class of rallying.

"It was definitely one of my best rallies because I felt like I was driving well with everything that we had, the grip level and the balance of the car," he added. "Maybe the final position is not confirming it but it was a really good weekend from a driving point of view."

Kubica will hope to build on the positive result at this month's Rally Italia Sardegna, which will act as round six of the 2015 championship and is scheduled for the 11-14 June.