Robert Kubica predicts it will be "a long time" until he gets to drive a Formula 1 car again after a disappointing test run in Barcelona, through no fault of his own, behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo. The team's reserve driver, who competed in 99 races during his F1 career, managed only nine laps during Wednesday's four-hour morning session, and none at full speed, in an outing plagued by car issues. Alfa Romeo's end-of-day total of 32 laps was the lowest of all, even fewer than a Haas, which suffered problems of their own throughout. For Kubica, it marked a sad return to the cockpit, with the former BMW Sauber, Renault and Williams driver unsure exactly when he will next be given the chance to drive an F1 car. "I only did two [real] laps and not at proper pace. I got an appetiser and I wanted more, but that's racing," he explained, having been delayed by floor trouble. "I wanted that feeling as I will not be in the car anymore, but again, we had another issue, so I could not drive properly. "I think it will be a long time until I get the opportunity to drive again. That's a shame, but that's how it is."
Alfa Romeo understand their problems and know how to fix them
Despite a frustrating day of running that will have seen Alfa Romeo lose ground to their rivals, Kubica says the team understand their problems and know how to fix them. There is still plenty of time to get things right before lights out at the season opener in Bahrain, with F1 set to continue testing in Barcelona until Friday before making the move to the Middle East next month for another three-day test event. "Normally, when you are not doing a lot of laps, it means you have some issues," continued Kubica. "The guys did a good job to solve one issue, but after a few laps we discovered another issue, one that we thought was solved but it wasn't. It's a big shame. "The feeling was not too bad once we'd solved one issue. That cost us all morning. But as soon as one issue was sorted, the next appeared and we lost half a day, unfortunately. "I think the car will run smoothly from now, so let's hope we can recover some ground and get some proper laps to discover our new baby."
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