Robert Kubica: Williams ace faces THREE challenges on F1 return - Tony Jardine EXCLUSIVE

That is according to motorsport expert Tony Jardine, as the Williams ace gets set for his first Grand Prix since 2010.

Robert Kubica will be on the grid at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit on Sunday as the new F1 campaign kicks off in Australia.

And securing a seat with Williams for this season following a year as a test driver completes a remarkable comeback for the Pole.

Kubica's racing career looked to be over when he suffered life-changing injuries in a rally crash in 2011.

But he has fought back to take his place at Williams following the departures of Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll in the off-season.

Kubica is up against it with the Grove-based team coming off the back of a difficult year which saw them finish dead-last in the F1 World Constructors' Championship.

And their preparations have been fraught with setbacks, with the debut of their new car at pre-season testing in Barcelona delayed by a day.

Speaking prior to testing at the Circuit de Cataluya, Jardine reflected on the impact Kubica's rally crash continues to have on him.

The former McLaren assistant manager also pointed to the weight of expectation and mentoring young team-mate George Russell as further challenges the 34-year-old will have to deal with.

"I think as always with Robert, he will be incredibly diligent, techinically astute, and he will continue to adapt, because that’s what he has to do with his injured arm," Jardine

exclusively told Express Sport.

"Because there’s no question or doubt there’s a certain articulation in the cockpit which is still difficult for him.

"But, in the limited amount of testing he’s done so far, he’s been there or thereabouts.

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"So I think he’s going to be able to adapt to overcome that because he is still a great racer, but now he’s got to prove it.

"This won’t be testing anymore. He will be back in real action.

"I’m pretty confident that he’s gonna start delivering and there’s a team, a great British team, and [2018] was one of their worst seasons for a long, long time.

"So he’s got a big job to do but he’s also got to put his arm round young George Russell and help him along too. So it’s a big weight on his shoulders."

Tony Jardine spoke to Express Sport on behalf of beIN Sports. beIN Sports will broadcast live coverage of the entire 2019 F1 season.

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