F1 News

Russell: Incredibly knowledgeable Kubica will be missed at Williams

Russell: "Incredibly knowledgeable" Kubica will be missed at Williams

22-11-2019 09:09
Author profile picture

Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Williams rookie George Russell has revealed he will greatly miss his current teammate Robert Kubica, as the Pole will leave the side after the 2019 season to make room for a different driver.

Russell and Kubica formed a brand-new line-up for the Grove-based team ahead of this season. It turned out to be a very difficult year for Williams, accruing just one point in the first 20 points as Kubica finished 10th in Germany. Well, he finished 12th but got bumped up following a disqualification for both Alfa Romeo cars as they had illegal mapping on their clutch.

Kubica, a one-time Grand Prix winner back in 2008, came back to F1 after an eight-year absence following his horror-crash in 2011. It's not been the fairy tale comeback for him he would've wanted, however, getting massively out-driven by Russell on most occasions.

The reigning Formula 2 champion Russell will still greatly miss his 34-year-old teammate, who has yet to announce what he'll be doing in 2020.

"I have a great relationship with Robert," the 21-year-old was quoted by RaceFans.net"We get along well."

Despite Russell having put in the better performances by quite a long way, out-qualifying Kubica on all 20 occasions so far, the two have maintained a very healthy relationship in a bid to get Williams closer to other constructors.

“He’s an incredibly funny guy," the Brit continued. "He’s incredibly knowledgeable on the technical side. And I learned a lot [from] how he deals with the engineers and the feedback he gives. It showed me there was more I need to improve to be more of a complete driver.”

Russell, who equalled Stoffel Vandoorne's record by winning seven races in his debut season in F2, will likely be paired by Nicholas Latifi in 2020.