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Who are the candidates to replace Robert Kubica?

Who are the candidates to replace Robert Kubica?

19-09-2019 16:55
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Robert Kubica lasted only one season at Williams after he announced he wouldn't be remaining at the constructor next season. Attention will quickly turn to who will replace the Pole and partner George Russell in 2020, so who are the potential candidates?

Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Latifi is strong favourite to replace Kubica at Williams with the Canadian already apart of the team's setup, having participated in free practices and testing throughout the 2019 season as their reserve driver.

Latifi has been competing in Formula 2 this year and led the early stages of the season but has dropped to second behind Nyck de Vries. The DAMS driver won three of the first five races in F2, including back to back victories in Baku and Spain.

Latifi has been Williams' reserve driver this season having previously been reserve for Force India and Renault in season's gone by. 

He has been previously linked to McLaren with his father investing £200 million through Nidala to the McLaren Group.

Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg can consider himself very unlucky. Having performed very respectively with Renault since they returned to the sport as a constructor, it looks as if the best he can do next season will be number two with Williams.

The German will be replaced at Renault by Esteban Ocon and many expected him to replace Grosjean at Haas. However, it looks as if he could miss out on a drive altogether unless Williams bring in the Hulk.

Hulkenberg has plenty of experience in Formula 1 having made his debut all the way back in 2010 making him one of the oldest heads on the grid. He made his debut with none other than Williams and in his first season secured his only pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year. Although he only lasted a year at Williams and it was almost ten years ago it could be beneficial that he has previous experience of driving for the constructor.

It now looks as if Hulkenberg's best chance of a drive next season will be at Williams, but it looks more likely that he'll move to a different series.

Jamie Chadwick

By far the most unlikely of the three candidates but Jamie Chadwick's involvement with Williams gives her an outside shot of a drive. She has tested for Williams this season after being announced as a development driver.

The 21-year old won the inaugural W-Series as well as competing at the opening F3 Asian Championship despite only competing in the opening round in Malaysia. However, it would come as a mighty surprise if Williams took the leap and picked Chadwick to be the first female driver to compete in F1 since 1990.

The outside picks

Amongst the obvious names, there are always some wild cards so take these with a pinch of salt. The likes of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson both have Formula 1 experience and have both been linked to a return to the pinnacle of motorsport. Ericsson is still apart of the Sauber setup and was rumoured to be in with a chance of a one-off return when Kimi Raikkonen had an injury at Spa. Wehrlein meanwhile approached Guenther Steiner about a possible drive with Haas but that move never materialised. Both drivers have Ferrari routes which could complicate a move.