Robert Kubica made his long-awaited return to a Formula One race weekend during FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix but he was surprised by the lack of performance from his Williams.
Kubica, who has tested but not raced competitively in F1 since suffering serious injuries in a rally crash in 2011, completed 24 laps of the Barcelona circuit on Friday and was able to outperform his team-mate Lance Stroll.
But it was not a feat worth shouting about given the two Williams drivers occupied the bottom two places on the timesheet.
Kubica's fastest trip around the track was clocked at 1:21.510 – over a second quicker than Stroll – but he was miles off the blistering pace set by Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.
"It has been a difficult session for us with difficult balance. Some we were expecting but not as bad. It was a bit of a shock for me," Kubica told Sky Sports F1.
"But actually I felt comfortable, although it is difficult to be comfortable in such a difficult balanced car to drive and difficult conditions.
"I think I did what I was asked and I am happy with what I delivered. I know I'm 19th but sometimes you have to realise that there are priorities and although the conditions and car balance was very, very difficult, I managed to drive well.
"Although, I felt embarrassed when I was driving inside the car because it was so difficult and I felt so slow in some places. But we couldn't do more.
"That is a good test for me because you need to understand where is your limits and where is the limit of the car. In my position when I have to deliver feedback and cannot do silly things, I'm happy by how I reacted to those conditions.
"I was expecting to have bigger emotions. I had much bigger emotions in the past when I was testing for the first time or even in Abu Dhabi. Although I'm not driving often, it is becoming natural. For sure it's nice to be in an official session of a grand prix weekend but it would be nicer to continue."
Sergey Sirotkin replaced Kubica in the Williams for FP2 as he prepares for Sunday's race.
