Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Formula One testing concluded today at the Hungaroring, with a fastest time for Sebastien Vettel and a show stopping performance from none other than Robert Kubica.
With the second and last day of in season testing concluding in sweltering conditions yet again, it would be the championship leading combination of Sebastien Vettel and Ferrari who would end the day with the most satisfaction, topping out the times across the two days of running and recording another 100 laps between both championship leader Vettel and the evergreen Kimi Räikkönen.
Sharing driving duties throughout the day, Vettel would wind up just under three tenths of a second ahead of probably the most impressive driver of the test, British youngster and 2016 McLaren BRDC Driver Award winner Lando Norris, making his Formula One debut behind the wheel of the McLaren Honda car and impressing all present with his mature, and incredibly fast performance in the often reluctant orange cars.
Norris would complete a respectable 91 laps on his way to second place, rounding out the day just under half a second clear of the Räikkönen in third, and a further seven tenths up on the man who perhaps all eyes have been trained on throughout the day, Formula One returnee and fan favourite Robert Kubica in the Renault.
Kubica would be having his first taste of a contemporary Formula One car since his near career ending accident in 2011, and would prove very little of his steely determination and outright pace have been diminished in his time away from the sport.
Clocking up an impressive 142 laps throughout the eight hours of running in Hungary, Kubica has gone a long way towards proving the driver is capable of putting himself in contention for a race seat heading into the 2018 season.
Confirming no ill effects from his injuries presented themselves during the day of running, and confirming everything is physically in order to allow him to once again compete at the pinnacle of world motorsport, Kubica did express a certain level of dissatisfaction of his performance during the test session, confirming that despite running with strong pace and consistency throughout the weekend, more is still to come from the winner of the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
When asked by reporters if he was satisfied with his performance out on track, Kubica warned against getting to excited at such an early stage of his recovery programme;
"Yes, but not 100 percent happy.. The biggest difference is this car has nothing similar or same as the cars I have been testing lately.
“When you have so many things that are different, it normally takes a bit of time to adapt.
“Coming here, actually Nico Hulkenberg said the same, that once I will be able to drive here, probably I’ll be able to drive everywhere.
"You can predict it wasn’t easy, which I’m not hiding, but it was good. I could drive, I think, tomorrow easily so fitness level is good, which is a good sign.
Kubica would give plenty of food for thought throughout the paddock with his performances today, well and truly opening up the door to a potential return to the grid for the 2018 season.“When you have so many things that are different, it normally takes a bit of time to adapt.
“Coming here, actually Nico Hulkenberg said the same, that once I will be able to drive here, probably I’ll be able to drive everywhere.
"You can predict it wasn’t easy, which I’m not hiding, but it was good. I could drive, I think, tomorrow easily so fitness level is good, which is a good sign.
Other drivers looking to lay down a marker for 2018 would be Lucas Auer in the Force India, once again getting seat time with the Silverstone based team and performing admirably in the pink car he shared with Russian Formula Three driver Nikita Mazepin, lapping the track in 1.19.242 to end the morning running on 49 laps and seventh in the times, some four tenths up on his car share partner Mazepin, who concluded the test for the team during the afternoon session.
Sitting between the two Force India youngsters would be George Russell in the Mercedes car, concentrating on longer runs than his immediate rivals and completing his program of work with a solid 90 laps under his belt, further adding to his Grand Prix experience alongside his current GP3 campaign.
Highly rated Frenchman Pierre Gasly would once again take the reigns of the Red Bull, making a solid 107 laps of the track as the Austrian team overcame their reliability issues from day one, beating Williams debutant Ghiotto by just under a tenth of a second. Haas F1 test and reserve driver Santino Ferrucci would follow up yesterday's running with more valuable time behind the wheel of an F1 can and Sauber debutant and F2 race winner Nobuharu Matsushita would round out the timesheets in 13th, almost five seconds adrift of the pace setting Ferrari.
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What do you think of the performance from Kubica and Renault? Can the Polish driver really secure a fairy tale return to F1? Is Lando Norris really THAT good? Let us know in the comments section below!
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