Kubica's Recovery

[simieski]

While I am glad he is racing, I wish he would stop crashing!
Its the same with Räikönnen, circuit drivers keep going for the 100% because that is how they get to the top on the circuit. That is not how you get to the top in Rally. You get there by driving 90% and getting the car home.

Should be some good rally drivers coming from F1 to rally after a few more years of Pirellis then

[turbof1]

I find I am no longer interested in "Kubica-returns-to-F1" story.

Kubica's been away far-to-long from an F1 seat to be considered by an owner as a potential talent. There's no way a top teams driver engineer will feel comfortable with Kubica in the cockpit when considering his partial lower-arm amputation and fractures to his shoulder and leg. I'm certain other drivers will play the public relations card and say its great to see him back....but there is a level of apprehension that will be experienced by the other drivers during passing battles etc.

The reality of the matter is, Kubica is high risk. Lotus have an extraordinary talent in Grosjean who they should spend their resources on so he can be ready when Kimi leaves the team.

I am however glad to see Kubica doing what he loves best....race cars fast =D>

+1

It's starting to annoy me how people think Kubica is still the same top driver from 2010. If you look at it rationally and if you physically take a look at Robert, you actually see his arm still isn't 'working' like normal. Such a massive injury and in the end, such a massive handicap, will affect any driver on an enormous scale. Take that + the fact that he's out of F1 & open-wheel racing for 3 years, and the final conclusion is that he will probably never make a decent comeback in F1.

It's such a shame, it really is, but the chance of Kubica making a successful comeback is about as big as a Caterham winning a GP this year.

I disagree with you 2. The core problem will be finding a way to operate a f1 steering wheel. He will never be able to do so like a normal f1 driver, I agree with that, but like being blind does not stop you from finding the way (development of other sences and better cognitive processes), this can't stop him. He can already drive certain circuits with just a standard steering wheel. If you adapt the steering wheel to what he can you can most certainly add another batch of circuits to that. And kubica himself will keep finding ways to utilise his hand more.

All else is pure mentality. Affinity for racing doesn't just go away. Such events could hit the mentality quite hard and mask the talent underneath. Not in the case of kubica: the series that nearly cost him his life or his hand, is being practiced by him again. Do you see a man who fears these events happen again? I see a person who is motivated to get back to the highest level of racing, who isn't afraid of dying in a car. If anything he will be more motivated then ever.

[Richard]

I think most followers of F1 would be interested in his recovery.

None of us know where that will lead, so I view comments that he'll never get into F1 with the same dose of scepticism as those saying he'll be a threat to top level drivers when he returns.

My personal view is that his injuries would lead one to assume an F1 comeback would be improbable. The thing with "improbable" is that by definition there is always a probability (even if slim) that he'll make it back to F1.

[KubicaFAN]

Very interesting article. I recommend you read
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/f1/wh ... sed-in-f1/
Why Robert Kubica is still missed in F1
Nigel Roebuck
I was delighted the other day to learn that Robert Kubica had recently had a session in the Mercedes Formula 1 simulator. Only a small step, I grant you, along the path of his avowed plan one day to return to F1, but one which will have done great things for his morale. Afterwards, Robert was moved to say that he now believed himself capable of driving an F1 car again – but for now only at certain tracks. Barcelona, for example, he reckoned would be fine; somewhere like Monaco, all twists and turns, not so. That said, his physical condition continues to improve, and undoubtedly he harbours a belief that one day he will be a full time Grand Prix driver again.



It is now a little over two years since Kubica was so grievously injured when his Skoda crashed in a minor Italian rally. Sunday, February 6 2011 to be precise. Three days earlier his Renault had set the fastest time on the final afternoon of the pre-season test at Valencia, edging the Ferrari of his close friend Fernando Alonso. He couldn’t wait for the new season to get underway.

As it was, his team – that year called Lotus Renault GP – had to go to Melbourne with Nick Heidfeld drafted in as partner to Vitaly Petrov. The Russian, remarkably, qualified sixth, and then made it to the podium, alongside Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, so it was no more than inevitable that many wondered just what Kubica might done with that car – and that thought has persisted ever since. The last 43 Grands Prix have come and gone without Robert.

His absence from the scene has coincided precisely with great changes in F1, all of them – as we have many times said – aimed at ‘spicing up the show’. Both DRS and Pirelli’s high degradation tyres arrived in 2011, and I doubt that Kubica, a real warrior of a racing driver, would have relished ‘driving at 80%’ any more than most of his fellow drivers.

Whatever the rules, though, he would undoubtedly have been right in the mix. At Monza in 2010, not long before his pal’s disastrous rally shunt, Alonso told me he thought Kubica had “the best talent of all of us”, and Hamilton, too, privately confided that he feared Robert more any other driver, the two of them having been rivals back to karting days. So that is how much of central figure F1 has missed in the last couple of seasons.



Had Kubica not decided – for pure pleasure – to take in that minor rally, where would he be now, I wonder? In 2010 he made the podium three times with a team very much in a transitional state, and Lotus (née Renault), even without a top line budget, has progressed spectacularly in the recent past. Would Robert still be there, I wonder – and if so, what would have happened to Kimi Rӓikkӧnen? With Kubica still on board, after all, Lotus would have had neither the need – nor the budget – to sign another top line driver, and Rӓikkӧnen, given that he wanted to come back to F1 after two fruitless years in the WRC, would perhaps have signed for Williams, from whom his first offer came.

Had another scenario come to be, however, Kimi might still have had an offer from Lotus, for around the time of Kubica’s accident the rumours were strong that Ferrari was keen to sign him, to have him alongside Alonso, in place of Felipe Massa. Fernando himself had no objections to the plan – indeed was reportedly enthusiastic about it – and it’s mighty unlikely that Robert would have turned down the offer.

Apart from being friends – Alonso lost no time in going to see Kubica in hospital after the accident – they are in many ways similar, these two. I once asked Robert what he considered the best perk of his job, and his response was immediate: “Driving…” Fernando is very much the same, declining to travel with a huge entourage, fundamentally left cold by ‘bling’.

Just as people say that Alonso is obsessive about the job, thinking constantly about improving the car, improving himself, chivvying the engineers, working, so the same was true of Kubica. “Yes, Robert pushed the team hard,” says Eric Boullier, “because he so much wanted to win. When a driver is totally committed to a team, everyone feels that – and that’s when you get the best out of people.”



Kubica is a fighter, and that was a quality he needed even to break into big time motor sport. I remember his response when I asked how much support, in his quest to be a racing driver, he had received from Poland, his native land: “None at all…

“I know it sounds a bit hard to say that, but that’s more or less how it was. On the other hand, I’m sure that some of the difficult times I had in the past made me stronger – as a driver and as a person. One thing I absolutely believe is that there are always positive things about a situation which seems negative.” A philosophy which may again serve him well.

By the time he was into his teens, Robert had moved to Italy, where he made his name in top-flight karting. “I think my parents, and others around me, were hoping I might become an F1 driver, but they never created expectations. I used to watch a few F1 races on TV, but I wasn’t really thinking about what might happen in three or four years – I’ve always been someone who doesn’t really think about the future, who concentrates more on today…”

It was in 2006 that Kubica arrived in F1, as BMW’s test driver, and when he occasionally took part in Friday practice, his times were frequently startling. When Jacques Villeneuve complained of headaches after an accident at Hockenheim, Mario Theissen put Robert in the car at the Hungaroring. First time out, he out-qualified team-mate Heidfeld, and Villeneuve’s F1 career was over.

At Monza, in only his third Grand Prix, Kubica qualified sixth, and finished third, beaten only by Schumacher and Rӓikkӧnen. We took due note – as we did at Indianapolis the following year, when Robert had a press conference to discuss the events of the weekend before, in Montreal, where he had had a truly enormous accident.

Essentially he got away unhurt, but the medical advice was that he should skip the race at Indy (which put new BMW reserve driver Vettel into a Grand Prix for the first time). Still he turned up at the Speedway, and impressed us with his droll sense of humour: “The second impact was quite big. I was still travelling at 260kph – so from 260 to zero into the wall was not ideal…” Had he seen the accident on TV? “Yes, but I’d already seen it live – because I was there…”



When I talked to him three years later, Robert still recalled every detail of the accident. “I lost consciousness at one point afterwards, but only for a very short time. I think I was very lucky that on the Monday I was able to walk out of the hospital. I think that when something likes this happens – whether you are injured or not – during the time you are away from racing, you are not the same person: you become much more motivated, you are so looking forward to coming back…”

For now, Kubica is driving a Citroën in the European Rally Championship, and blindingly quick he is proving, but as he recently said, “Suddenly what was all my life stopped in one second, and I would give all the money I have to be back in the cockpit of a Formula 1 car. I still hope to come back to where I was – I think everybody would like to see me there…”

So they would. Since Robert’s accident there has been a gap in the very top echelon of Grand Prix drivers, and it would be a tragedy if we were never to see him in an F1 car again. Perhaps that day in the Mercedes simulator was a precursor to something good.

[Clew]

I still think it's more important for Lotus to invest in their future....Romain Grosjean

[stefan_]

I still think it's more important for Lotus to invest in their future....Romain Grosjean

I don't understand why people still insist with Lotus as if RK is still their employee.

Robert is not glued to Lotus. Boullier only said that he wouldn't rule out the option to take Kubica back if Robert will return in full shape and capacity to drive a Formula 1 car. As far as I know, at the moment the two parties (RK & Lotus) have no contractual agreement - what has been in the past has been dealt with and they moved on.

Lotus has a good pair of drivers. If they can make Grosjean tick at full potential they would have one of the strongest line-ups on the grid.

[iotar__]

I still think it's more important for Lotus to invest in their future....Romain Grosjean

What does it have to do with RK? And in case you didn't notice, it's the opposite, they're doing everything they can to slow down his development. As usual in F1 contrary to what they say. Lopez acts like a delusional puppeteer that thinks that you can switch F1 driver on and off whenever you need it.

"...secret [simulator] Formula 1 testing" Well, not so secret no more , if it even exists. Why Mercedes? OK, DTM tests connection was there but it's still rather surprising. I would imagine it's not the current or any recent car he'd be using.

It's obvious but it's a good shot of where the problem is:
http://i.imgur.com/g61jttL.jpg?1
Are all single seaters the same? Those Indy ones look tin-pot enough that you'd think it's possible to create 5 cm of space with a hammer.

The answer to your question is Toto Wolf, he has some connections to Poland(parents?), he's followed Robert Kubica's career and is a fan.

I understand that, he and Wolff can be friends in a broader term of the word but F1 team simulator is a pretty restricted place. I doubt they give an access to it lightly. What is Mercedes getting out of it?

[zonk]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22395082

Mercedes say they will make a Formula 1 car available for Robert Kubica to try if he recovers sufficiently to be able to drive one.
The Pole, whose right arm was partially severed in a rally accident in 2011, has driven Mercedes' F1 simulator.
Motorsports boss Toto Wolff told BBC Sport Kubica was "helping" Mercedes
"If there's any chance of getting him back in a DTM touring car or F1 cockpit, we'd love to do it," said Wolff.
"Any team would love to have a Robert Kubica."
But Wolff, also the executive director of the Mercedes F1 team, emphasized that the former BMW and Renault driver was focusing mainly this year on his programme in the European Rally Championship.
"He is somebody I have known for 10 years but it's absolutely his call how he wants to help us and his main focus is rallying," said Wolff.
"This is where he wants to be successful and what he wants to do in the future."
Kubica, 28, is competing in rallying this season as he continues his recovery from the injuries that forced him out of F1 ahead of the 2011 season.
The Pole, who was one of the most highly regarded stars in F1, is undergoing regular rehabilitation on his right arm, which still does not have full movement.
Kubica posted competitive lap times earlier this year in a Mercedes DTM (German touring car championship) car - during a test arranged by Wolff - and admitted at the weekend that he had been in the Mercedes F1 simulator.
BBC Sport understands the door is open for Kubica to continue to use the Mercedes simulator should he wish to do so.
Kubica has made no secret of the fact that he wants to return to F1 eventually, assuming he can recover sufficient movement in his right arm to allow him to operate an F1 car within the tight confines of its cockpit.
"There is no guarantee I will or will not come back to F1," he told Autosport magazine on last weekend's Rally Azores.
He added: "Unfortunately, my F1, not career, but my F1 story got interrupted, so I found rallying was my best option to slowly come back. For this year, it was what I was looking for."
Kubica's former team Lotus, which changed its name from Renault ahead of the 2012 season, have also made it clear they would welcome Kubica back.
And Ferrari have in the past made no secret of their admiration for his skills.
But the fact Kubica is now being given access to the Mercedes simulator - one of any F1 team's most closely guarded secrets - suggests they would be his number one option should he recover sufficiently to allow him to race in the sport again.

[zonk]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107164

Kubica not interested in racing return unless it is in Formula 1 By Charles Bradley and Jonathan Noble

Robert Kubica Robert Kubica says he has no interest in a full-time return to racing in anything other than Formula 1 right now.

Although the Pole was offered a DTM seat with Mercedes for this year, he has elected to concentrate on rallying so he can build his fitness back up.

In an exclusive interview with AUTOSPORT speaking about his ongoing recovery, Kubica made it clear that as long as he believed he could return to F1 then he does not want to commit himself to any other racing category.

Kubica's rally to recovery

"For me, now, the priority is to get as fit as I can," said Kubica, who confirmed to AUTOSPORT last week that he had been in the Mercedes F1 simulator.

"I'm not able to come back into single-seaters at the moment, and my vision is not to come back in saloon cars on the circuit at this stage."

He added: "DTM, for me, is one of the highest-level championships in the world, the drivers who are racing there; I'd say there's a minimum of 10 who can win races. It's a very high-level championship.

"It's not that I'm underrating these cars, or GTs or anything else, it's just that I have something in my mind and I'm trying everything to achieve it, and this is the best way for me.

"Maybe one day in the future I will race in DTM or GT or whatever, because I will feel that it's the right moment. I'm still young, I think I can still achieve something in motorsport, I will try my best."

Although Kubica concedes there is no certainty he will ever be fit enough to race in F1 again, he also says it cannot be ruled out yet either.

Robert Kubica"There is not any guarantee, there is no percentage to say whether I will come back or not, but it's also not 100 per cent that I will not be back in F1. I will try my best," he said.

"I have been through a difficult period, and I'd say it's an easier period now, I am enjoying myself, but it is still not a totally easy period for me, because I'd definitely prefer to be in F1 driving, 100 per cent fit. The reality is different.

"Now I need a little bit of everything - a little bit of luck and motivation, which I think I have, and to keep working so maybe I have the chance to get back to where I was before the accident.

[GrizzleBoy]

Mercedes say they will make a Formula 1 car available for Robert Kubica to try if he recovers sufficiently to be able to drive one.
The Pole, whose right arm was partially severed in a rally accident in 2011, has driven Mercedes' F1 simulator.
Motorsports boss Toto Wolff told BBC Sport Kubica was "helping" Mercedes

Hm.......when they say a "seat" do they mean an Antony Davidson kind of seat or a Nico Rosberg (or Hamilton...) kind of seat?

[stefan_]

Mercedes say they will make a Formula 1 car available for Robert Kubica to try if he recovers sufficiently to be able to drive one.
The Pole, whose right arm was partially severed in a rally accident in 2011, has driven Mercedes' F1 simulator.
Motorsports boss Toto Wolff told BBC Sport Kubica was "helping" Mercedes

Hm.......when they say a "seat" do they mean an Antony Davidson kind of seat or a Nico Rosberg (or Hamilton...) kind of seat?

I think that will be more of a W02 (two years old car) kind of seat for him to test with. Although it would also be a good marketing move for Mercedes, I don't think we will see Robert in a FP during a Formula 1 weekend if he gets recovered enough to be able to drive a Formula 1 car.

[Clew]

I still think it's more important for Lotus to invest in their future....Romain Grosjean

What does it have to do with RK? And in case you didn't notice, it's the opposite, they're doing everything they can to slow down his development.

I believe Lotus's future cars should be built around RG. Kimi is 33 and may have 2 or 3 years to go. Lotus may be trying to get RG to drive a smarter race. Let's not get "slow down his development" confused with driving a mature full length race. RG being too aggressive at races start hurt Lotus last season with all the crashes. Perhaps RG will be more selective to make passes in areas which don't exist. He's loaded with talent. He has time on his side. Lotus helped him get a podium last race from P11. His other races this season resulted in top 10 finishes.

[zonk]

this is not a topic about Lotus or Romain so...

[pocketmoon]

Watching the recent WRC2013 video is clear that Robert still has major lack of function in his right hand, with no real grip.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHzhV6tqsmY[/youtube]

If the F1 regs allow for enough modification to the wheel I'm sure he can control the car without a problem but without a strong grip on the right hand side of the wheel it's going to be very tough physically.

[netoperek]

Watching the recent WRC2013 video is clear that Robert still has major lack of function in his right hand, with no real grip.

At which point of the video exactly?