A friend and former colleague of Robert Kubica has hit out at claims the Pole should not be in F1.

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has enraged Kubica's fans by suggesting the pinnacle of motor sport is no place for a driver with a "disability".

Lucas di Grassi, a former F1 driver, said the Canadian's comments were "absurd".

Also defending Kubica is Dario Katta, who according to sport.pl sponsored the now Williams driver when he contested a 24 hour race in Adria in 2016.

"Why is Jacques Villeneuve saying this? It goes back to 2006, when Robert Kubica was much faster in a test and took his place at BMW Sauber," he said.

Indeed, Villeneuve's final race in F1 was the 2006 German GP, and he was replaced at the following race by Kubica, who had been the third BMW driver.