Renault weighing up running Kubica at test

Renault is weighing up whether to give Kubica a first run in its 2017 F1 car to further evaluate whether he has the potential to make a grand prix comeback next year.

Kubica has impressed in two private tests he has done in a 2012 car so far, but Renault still wants to know more about how he will perform in contemporary machinery.

F1's strict test rules mean that opportunities to run Kubica in a current car are extremely limited, and are further complicated by the fact that he will not count as a rookie driver despite his years away from F1.

The FIA regulations demand that two of the four in-season test days are completed by drivers who have competed in no more than two grands prix. Kubica completed 76 races in his career for BMW Sauber and Renault.

With Renault having already run Nico Hulkenberg for one day in Bahrain, it faces a dilemma over whether to give Kubica an outing at the expense of current driver Jolyon Palmer.

GP2 race winner Nihcolas Latifi is set to run on the day that Palmer or Kubica do not do.

The only other way that Renault could run Kubica would be in a totally separate acclimitisation test, which is allowed in the rules if a team elects to substitute a driver.

Kubica would be qualified to do this - because he has not raced in F1 for two years - and it would have to take place on a track that does not host an F1 race.

Should the test go ahead and Renault decides in the end that Kubica is not ready to compete, then the rule would mean it loses one of its pre-season test days for 2018.

The rookie stipulation means that the line-up for the Hungaroring test has plenty of youngsters drivers on board - including GP3 points leader George Russell getting a double outing for Mercedes because the team used Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in Bahrain.

Red Bull is set to use Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen, while at Ferrari Formula 2 leader Charles Leclerc will share the running with Kimi Raikkonen.

Force India announced earlier on Tuesday that it would be running DTM racer Lucas Auer and European Formula 3 driver Nikita Mazepin, while Williams is considering running simulator driver Gary Paffett again alongside Felipe Massa.

F3 frontrunner Lando Norris could get his first outing for McLaren, with Stoffel Vandoorne expected to run on the other day, while other rookies set to appear are F2 pair Gustav Malja and Nobuharu Matsushita at Sauber.

Mercedes: George Russell

Red Bull: Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen

Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen, Charles Leclerc

Force India: Lucas Auer, Nikita Mazepin

Williams: Felipe Massa, Gary Paffett?

McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne, Lando Norris

Renault: Nicholas Latifi, Robert Kubica?

Toro Rosso: Sean Gelael, Carlos Sainz Jr/Daniil Kvyat

Haas: Santino Ferrucci

Sauber: Gustav Malja, Nobuharu Matsushita