Kubica to return to racing .....

[marmer]

I'll be impressed if any of the teams give Billy Monger a test drive. Making a car for a guy with prosthetic legs would be a real statement of inclusion.

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

[Just_a_fan]

I'll be impressed if any of the teams give Billy Monger a test drive. Making a car for a guy with prosthetic legs would be a real statement of inclusion.

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

In his current junior formula car, he has a brake pedal and a steering wheel throttle paddle. Gears are on the other paddle. He can use a brake pedal because he has a knee on one leg but not the other.

[Manoah2u]

Can he take Lowes Hairpin?

If I understand it correctly it is his right arm that has limited mobility. Most F1 drivers seem to take Lowes using just their right hand. Does his arm have mobility?

I am sure he has done simulator work but is he strapped in as tightly as he would be in an F1 race?

Good god, never good enough 'eh?

The guy has a 2019 race contract. has done endless simulator work.
drove fantastic races in other classes.

he mentioned himself 70% is done with his left hand.

why still the questions?
is sirotkin able to take the turn? obviously, so kubica can too.

when will it be enough?
when Kubica wins the WDC?
or will there then still be bs stories like 'without power steering he'd be lost'
'f1 is too easy, look, kubica can win with 1 arm'
'the car is too dominant, they're killing the sport'.

come on people.

[Manoah2u]

I'll be impressed if any of the teams give Billy Monger a test drive. Making a car for a guy with prosthetic legs would be a real statement of inclusion.

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

why wouldn't he be able throttle and brake with prostetics?

[Big Tea]

I'll be impressed if any of the teams give Billy Monger a test drive. Making a car for a guy with prosthetic legs would be a real statement of inclusion.

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

why wouldn't he be able throttle and brake with prostetics?

Would he be able to meet the criteria for getting out of the cockpit? even then, how far and where could he go in reasonable time?

[marmer]

I'll be impressed if any of the teams give Billy Monger a test drive. Making a car for a guy with prosthetic legs would be a real statement of inclusion.

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

why wouldn't he be able throttle and brake with prostetics?

Well I suppose it depends how good his prosthetics are. Let's be honest they won't be as good as his old legs. Let's say they are good enough to physically drive the car a good and a bad quali lap can be fractions of a second. He wouldn't make it in F1 if he was losing half a second to his legs. With electronic throttles and brakes there is now no real need to have foot peddle to generate the force it's purely for historical reasons and to keep the hand free for other tasks

[Just_a_fan]

I'll be impressed if any of the teams give Billy Monger a test drive. Making a car for a guy with prosthetic legs would be a real statement of inclusion.

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

why wouldn't he be able throttle and brake with prostetics?

He can use the brake pedal with one prosthetic because the amputation was below the knee. The other one was above the knee so I guess he can't get the movement he needs in a tight, laying down cockpit. Perhaps there isn't enough finesse for the throttle.

[zac510]

He can use the brake pedal with one prosthetic because the amputation was below the knee. The other one was above the knee so I guess he can't get the movement he needs in a tight, laying down cockpit. Perhaps there isn't enough finesse for the throttle.

He mightn't be able to use the upper leg muscles effectively without the knee joint to give leverage.

[Just_a_fan]

Wouldn't be hard if the rules allow to just Allow him to drive just using the steering wheel

why wouldn't he be able throttle and brake with prostetics?

Would he be able to meet the criteria for getting out of the cockpit? even then, how far and where could he go in reasonable time?

He's racing in F3 this year and has two poles, three fastest laps and four podiums. Not bad I'm sure you'll agree.

He has also driven a Sauber C30 with modified controls to match those in his F3 car.

I guess if he's racing in F3 then he meets the "get out in a crash" requirements.

[FW17]

Wonder how much Ocon being a difficult driver at Force India for the last 2 years would have carried into Williams decision

[Manoah2u]

Wonder how much Ocon being a difficult driver at Force India for the last 2 years would have carried into Williams decision

Quite frankly, i don't think Ocon ever had any chance @ Williams.

Any talk about trying to get him a seat there is just PR-talk.
Russell's signing was 'planned' long before it ever becoming the talking point.
That includes all the 'sweet' extra's Williams will get through the deal.
Obviously, the second seat will be vacant and fully to Williams' decision.

All the deals with Mercedes were already done through Russell. So there's nothing more to 'bargain'.
Meaning, there's nothing Ocon can bring for Williams to be actually concidered, because Ocon is a Merc driver,
just like Russell is.

So whether Ocon would have been a driver which would be perfectly managable and all, doesn't really matter, as there was or would be no room for him no matter what.So i'm pretty sure his clash with Max didn't do anything.

That said, as far as options outside of Williams for 2019, that's an entirely different story.
I think it's not as bad as 'Diva' Pascal Wehrlein's supposed difficult managability (temper), but there might be something to it.

[graham.reeds]

Good god, never good enough 'eh?

The guy has a 2019 race contract. has done endless simulator work.
drove fantastic races in other classes.

Pre having his arm reattached and lengthy surgery. I don't remember him doing any FP around Monaco.

he mentioned himself 70% is done with his left hand.

And the remaining 30%?

why still the questions?
is sirotkin able to take the turn? obviously, so kubica can too.

Sirotkin never had is arm partially severed - Sirotkin has a full range of movement.

[Phil]

I dont quite get the hostility in here regarding questioning how good Kubica can be.

It’s astonishing IMO he gets this opportunity and i wish him nothing but the best to perform beyond what people are expecting of him.

At the same time though, i wonder how much to signing Kubica is down to financial reason rather than pure pace.

To be fair though; even if Kubica isnt the quickest, i am sure he could bring invaluable intel to the team regarding setup etc.

[Webber2011]

Frankly, none of us know the exact details regarding how much his accident has effected his ability to drive a current F1 car, but if Williams have signed off on him having the capacity to do so then obviously they see no problem.

Do any of you doubters think Williams would promote a "gimp" (my word) to a race seat based wholey on the financial backing he brings ?
I don't think any team in their right mind would do so, no matter what their financial situation might be.

Yes, it might hinder him to the point he's not WDC material anymore, but to question his ability to drive one of these things around Monaco is just preposterous imo.

I have a very close mate who is wheelchair bound due to having cerebral palsy since birth.
Once he drags himself out of that chair and gets behind a drum kit though, he's an entirely different animal altogether.
He tours the planet teaching others how to be as strong and does things most so called "able bodied" people could only dream of.
Google "Andrew Hewitt, Australia's most Inspirational Drummer" to see just how strong someone with a disability can be.

Despite his injury I'm sure Robert is 1000 times fitter than anyone posting here, and I'm also sure he is very, very well prepared.

Sadly even if that does mean rolling around at the back of the grid in a fairly pathetic car, I reckon he will do just fine, and might even show up his team mate

[Tzk]

There was some onboard footage from todays fp1. In tight lefthand corners, Kubica turns in about a quarter turn on the wheel, then takes the right hand off the wheel and pushes it from below. Looks interesting, but seems to work perfectly.

I was left a bit surprised by the way he drives around his right arm issues. This even raised my respect for him and his missonmeven more.