MAY 1, 2013

Kubica confirms Mercedes simulator test

Robert Kubica has confirmed reports he has tested at the wheel of Mercedes' driver simulator.

We reported recently that the Pole, who also tested the German marque's DTM car over the winter, headed to Mercedes' F1 factory at Brackley for a run in the simulator, having earlier been "spotted ... at the airport in London".

The team, whose F1 drivers are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, has declined to comment.

But former BMW and Renault driver Kubica confirmed: "Yes, it's true, I was there.

"But I will not tell you how many times I've been there or how many laps I did," he is quoted by Speed Week correspondent Mathias Brunner.

"It's not right that every time I am seen at Heathrow, I'm on the way to Brackley," the 28-year-old insisted.

Kubica, contesting the second-tier world rally championship in 2013, has been out of F1 since his near-fatal early 2011 rally crash, which has left him with restricted movement in his right arm.

The 2008 Canadian grand prix winner said his push to return to F1 is going well.

"Driving at Barcelona would be possible now," he is quoted as saying, "but not Monaco."

(GMM)