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Kubica likely to snub Haas for Racing Point deal
Robert Kubica is close to signing a deal to be reserve driver at Racing Point in 2020, turning down a similar role at Haas as a result.
Haas had been keen to recruit the Pole following his departure from Williams in order to bolster its simulator setup and increase the experience level within the team. Team principal Guenther Steiner had previously stated he was waiting on a decision from Kubica, who wants to combine any role in Formula 1 -- that his sponsor Orlen is pushing for -- with a race seat in DTM.
However, Racing Point has also been working hard to convince Kubica to take on a reserve and simulator role in support of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, and RACER understands the 34-year-old is on the verge of turning down Haas in favor of a move to the former Force India team.
Senior sources at Racing Point insist no deal is yet signed but that they are hopeful Kubica will join the team, having now finished work with Williams -- for who he scored the team’s only point this season -- following Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Should Kubica opt for Racing Point, it would be a blow to Haas after the team was willing to give him Friday practice outings to help correlation between the simulator and the track, following a season where it struggled to get the most out of its tires and finished ninth in the constructors’ championship despite regular Q3 appearances.
Both teams have named unchanged race driver line-ups for the 2020 season, with Perez and Stroll staying with Racing Point and Haas retaining Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.
Presented by:
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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