Kubica's road to success

Despite only being 23 years old, Robert Kubica can already look back on a long career in motorsport. The BMW Sauber F1 Team driver gives an insight into his beginnings as a junior driver in his homeland of Poland.

"I started quite young - when I was just four and a half years old," says Kubica. It was then that his father, himself a racing fan, bought Robert a small car with two gears, which reached speeds of about 40km/h. The Pole fell hook, line and sinker for this first set of wheels. "That was like Christmas and birthday in one. I didn't leave that car for half a day and never wanted to get out and go home. I mainly drove it in car parks," Robert recalls.

The next step on the career ladder came at six and a half years of age: Robert was given a kart. However, he had to wait a while before he could enter his first race. You must be over ten years old in order to receive a karting licence in Poland. "I had to wait three years. During this time I trained hour after hour on a kart circuit about 120 kilometres away from my home in Krakow. After that I raced in the Polish Championship for three years, and won six titles," says Robert.

The effort and expense have paid off: Robert had laid the foundations for a successful career in motorsport. Further success in the Italian karting series, Formula Renault 2000, the Formula 3 Euro series and the World Series by Renault brought the promising talent to the attention of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The rest is history...