Robert Kubica insists his dream to return to formula one is on track.
It has emerged that the former BMW and Renault driver will test Mercedes’ DTM car at Valencia this week.
But Mercedes’ executive director and 30 per cent F1 team owner Toto Wolff insists that formula one is still a long way off for the veteran of 76 grands prix, who was almost killed in a rally ahead of the 2011 season.
"Kubica aims to see how he fares in the cockpit after his long break due to injury," Mercedes said in a statement.
The 28-year-old sounds confident.
"It’s not just a dream," he told F1 Racing magazine, when asked about the prospect of returning to formula one.
Kubica admitted the reduced mobility of his right arm makes it difficult for him to drive a single seater at present.
But "things are improving," he insisted.
"It wasn’t like this six months ago and it wasn’t like this three months ago. And thanks to rallies and tests on the race track, slowly my condition is improving — but there is still a long way to go."
Kubica said the biggest problem is the rotation of his arm and the limited functionality of his fingers, but he said the situation is improving "even if it’s slow".
"I am quite sure this will be ... not fixed, but not a big problem."