Polish racer Kubica, now 32, was widely regarded among the most talented drivers to arrive on the F1 scene in the preceding decade - and notched up a race win for BMW Sauber in Canada in 2008.

But an injury sustained in a rallying accident in 2011 meant he could not continue in F1, and after recovering enough to compete in motorsport again, Kubica initially opted to become a full-time rallying driver.

He didn't manage to get a foothold in the WRC long-term, and was back to circuit racing in 2016, contesting Mugello 12 Hours and going on to enter various other endurance races and a one-off weekend in the Renault Sport Trophy.

Having signed with WEC LMP1 privateer team ByKolles for 2017 after a test outing in Bahrain last year, Kubica spoke to the media at WEC's Prologue in Monza.

He recalled: "I have been through a difficult period in life. First I decided to go rallying, but rallying went not as I was expecting. In the end I stopped for a bit, to reset everything.

"I did step back a lot from the circuit after my recovery from the accident, because the circuit was reminding me too much about what I was doing before.

"It was all my life. It was racing and Formula 1 was the best that I could get.

"To be honest, I was surprised by how many people I met in Bahrain and also here, which I remember from F1. It's something which before, for sure, would be mixed feelings [for me].

"But in the end, that period is gone - I'm ready to start working 100 percent on what is my challenge for this year and for the future."

LMP1 uncertainties

Due to his injury, Kubica admitted that he initially did not know whether he would be able to post competitive laptimes in the LMP1 car - saying he had warned team boss Colin Kolles before last year's Bahrain test that he could be done after one lap.

"In the beginning, I was not sure if I would be able to drive LMP cars because the cockpit is quite small, especially the right-hand-side cockpit cars," Kubica said.

"I didn't want to try something which I was not sure 100 percent I would be able to drive - because it will give me again reminders, it will highlight that I have bigger limitations than I think.

"I made it clear to Colin - it was quite late, the car was already in Bahrain and I say 'okay, I'm going to Bahrain [to test], this is my risk, but it's also your risk'. It might be that I jump in the car, I do one lap and I step out because I'm not able to drive it.

"It was my first time in an LMP1 car in my life. It was a good experience, I didn’t do a lot of laps but straight away I found a good rhythm.

"He made it quite clear that, if I'm interested, he's happy to put me in the car. I said 'why not' - for me it's a good, soft way of coming back to racing, especially in a category where I have no experience."

Additional reporting by Guillaume Nedelec