Kubica in talks with Williams over F1 role

Sergey Sirotkin is the favourite to get the race drive alongside Lance Stroll, having fended off competition from Kubica, Daniil Kvyat, Paul di Resta and Pascal Wehrlein.

Williams has insisted throughout the process that its decision on the driver to partner Stroll would be based purely on performance and Sirotkin is believed to have come out on top.

Kubica was purely focused on getting a race seat in F1 this season, but when it became clear that was unlikely to happen, he and his team switched tact.

Talks regarding alternative options began, with Kubica keen to be involved with Williams in some guise during the coming campaign.

It is understood discussions are centred around a supporting role, helping drive car performance and development, with the potential for more time behind the wheel.

Such a move would make sense for both sides, with Williams gaining an experienced driver to support what is likely to be an inexperienced line-up, while Kubica will get more time to prove he can compete at the highest level again.

Williams is declining to comment on the make-up of its driver line-up for 2018 and will make an announcement in due course.