As the likes of Haas and McLaren move up the Formula 1 pecking order, others will naturally slide the other way and Williams has been sliding downwards for the past few years.
In Australia, Lance Stroll said that the team is “surviving, not racing.” The 19-year-old Canadian managed a 14th-place finish while teammate Sergey Sirotkin failed to finish on his debut — a plastic bag causing his brakes to overheat only a few laps into the season-opening race.
Villeneuve, who won the 1997 world championship with Williams, is suggesting that Kubica could have a hand in the disappointing performance.
And it difficult to classify the situation at Williams,” Villeneuve told Sky Italia. “The only thing that could unlock the potential of the car was Kubica, and it is Robert who is the driver who drives the development of the car.
“It’s possible that he’s tuning the car so that it’s hard to ride for the other drivers. His dream is to race again, not be a third man, I would not underestimate that, and I would do the same in his place.”
Kubica narrowly missed out on a Williams race seat for 2018 — the team opting instead for Russian Sirotkin — with many suggesting that the decision was decided on which driver had the better financial package rather than who was quickest.
Kubica has recently turned down a drive with Manor in the World Endurance Championship so appears to be committed to his F1 effort. But would he really use underhand tactics to gain the race seat he craves?
Only Kubica himself has that answer.