Current Robert Kubica

He's fast, Polish and a bloody brilliant racer. To me Kubica is a special talent and has been very unlucky to not find himself in a top team yet.

The thing i like about Kubica is that he's a trier and never gives in say if he was third and had a sniff of second he'd go and chase the second place man down. He's a much toned down version of Lewis Hamilton IMHO he's great at overtaking (Austrailla 2009) exception and if he was in a better car i think he'd a won more races than the current 1 he stands at.

Kubica made his F1 debut at the Hungrian GP in 2006 replacing the injuried Jacque Villeneuve for BMW Sauber. He'd outqualified teammate Nick Heidfeld at the time and finished the race in 7th place only to be DSQ for been under weight. Since Kubica's first and only Pole Position came at the 2008 Bahrain GP, that same season he'd broke his winning duck and won his current and only race in Canada. Kubica has stood on the podium 12 times and in his 76 race he's scored a total of 273 points.

Sad news broke eariler in the year (2011) that Kubica had been involved in a Rally competition and crashed, his life was said to be in the balance, but he's slowly recovering from nasty injuries he substaned in the accident. It remains to be seen whether Kubica will return to motor-racing. But for me Kubica is a talented driver and if we do see him back on the grid i'd be over the moon.

Whether you like him or not Kubica is a cool guy and one that i'd like to see become Champion if he return's to the sport.

How do you rate Kubica?

 

[Mezzer]

I don't believe Benson's suggestion that "I still believe I can come back" means the same as "Robert Kubica insists he will return to Formula 1" or "Robert Kubica expects Formula 1", I think it just means Kubica himself hasn't given up all hope, but I think that's a very subjective assessment on his behalf. Objectively the window has been closing for a while and driving Touring or even rallying doesn't need the same dexterity as F1 does from a controls perspective. If they all used multi-buttoned steering wheels, and paddles for gear changes, it might be a different story, but IMO if they did Kubica wouldn't be driving them either.

 

[Fuzzy]

http://www.formula1onlive.com/2013/01/photos-robert-kubica-testing-mercedes.html

Here he is testing DTM car.

We should be skeptical about him coming back to F1, but it is not unprecedented. Just look at Räikkönen, he didn't do any open-wheel racing for two years, heck, he spent most of that time avoiding rocks and trees. Still came back like a champion. Obviously the circumstances are different with Kubica, but I'm not giving up on him. Clearly he's extremely talented and has a passion for racing, he just needs to get his arm working well enough in the next year or two. Humans are surprisingly resilient creatures creatures, just ask Niki Lauda.

 

[Mezzer]

Give me an example of someone who has returned to the top flight having received similar injurites to Kubica, I don't recall any but there may be a couple. Despite Lauda's significant injuries they didn't stop him being able to drive a car, none of his limbs were affected. Also remember that in Raikonen's case he was a returning WDC, so brought attention because of that. Sorry but I don't see the parallels you're trying to draw. I like Kubica, I just think its over. Lauda said that it was Kubica's own fault, and in this rare case I agree with Niki.

 

[GeoffP]

Douglas Bader?

 

[gethinceri]

A curious choice GeoffP, but I like it, an interesting parallel. I still don't think we'll see Kubica race in F1 again, though.

 

[GeoffP]

Sorry, flippant moment about a hero of mine

 

[Olivier]

Kubica reportedly 0.5 faster than Garry Paffett (ex DTM champ) in the wet

 

[Il_leone]

driving DTm is less demanding than F1 even Kubica has admitted it

He does not have the strength in his arms for the physical rigours of F1

No team is seriously going to take a risk on him to get back in F1

He has to be able to do 2 full race distances in a day I think as one of the requirements to drive in F1

 

[no-FIAt-please]

To be honest. I think if I were running a team like Force India or even Sauber, I'd give him a tryout at a the least. Just a day in the car in Jerez before the season starts to see if a) he can control the car b) he can keep it up for longer than a race distance c) he still has the raw speed required. If it came off then a midfield team coud find themselves with a nice pot of WCC money come the end of the season.

S'pose it's a good job that I don't run a Formula 1 team...

 

[Speshal]

S'pose it's a good job that I don't run a Formula 1 team...

I think we can all agree to that

 

[sushifiesta]

no-FIAt-please I'll also be reasonably surprised if he doesn't drive an F1 car again at some stage, although I think it's still too early at the moment as the cars he's driving are still being modified (I can't remember where I read it but I think the gear shift has been changed in some way in the rally cars he's driven).

Given another year or two with steady improvement in his arm I think a lot of teams would jump at the chance to give him a test in the car as it would get a lot of media attention. Having said that, being able to race and compete in a full season is another matter entirely that I'm not so sure about, and maybe he won't want to "tease" himself if he doesn't think he can do it.

 

[no-FIAt-please]

I think we can all agree to that

Oi! It's my birthday you have to be nice to me

 

[Olivier]

Nigel Roebuck on Kubica

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ask_nigel/robert-kubica-still-missed-in-f1/

According to Alonso, on pure talent Kubica was the best out ...

 

[Slyboogy]

It's a damn shame that he's no longer on the grid, he was the replacement for Raikkonen when Kimi left, and was becoming a firm favourite of mine.

He was a mix of Alonso and Hamilton, and in my opinion could have probably been the best.

Even then, I wonder how his career would have panned out, if he was still in the sport, I doubt he would have had a World Championship, even if he did move to Ferrari. He probably would have become one of those drivers at the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Il_leone]

Kubica was seen as someone that would seriously scare Hamilton when he was really on it in terms of pure speed

I think he had the attributes to be a Gilles Villeneuve of sorts

I just don;t see how he can get back into F1 as every year it gets harder to get back in

Sportscar and DTM are less straining on his body with all due respect the only team that would take a punt on him would be someone like Williams but its a massive gamble

 

[soccerman17]

I'd love to see Williams pick him up or to see Caterham and Marussia get some since talked into them and get somebody who could possibly score points after they dropped Kovi, Petrov, and Glock. Definitely could score points even in one of those. Not regurarly but given the right conditions I have no doubt in my mind he could. Also would love to see him absolutely dominate a rookie Timo Glock style.

 

[Mezzer]

IMO it's all over and we need to move on.

 

[Brogan]

It was all over a little over two years ago, on Sunday February 6 2011.
The guy almost died and his arm/hand was virtually completely severed.

I have no idea why people are clinging to this romantic ideal of Kubica coming back in to F1 in a blaze of glory.

 

[mnmracer]

Two years already?
I guess not realizing how long it's been makes it hard to realize it's really over.
Though, doesn't Formula One needs a bit of romance sometimes?

 

[Il_leone]

I'd very much doubt Kubica can be the same Kubica as witnessed in 2008 and 2010 if he comes back

Schumacher struggled 3 years away from the sport
Raikkonen lost a bit of speed when he was out as well

F1 moves at a rapid pace though the cars are easier to drive now the drivers have to be supremely fit physically and mentally to be able to drive cars for 2 hours


I see races like Bahrain, Singapore, Sepang and Monaco being physically demanding which will show Kubica's lack of F1 race pace and fitness telling