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?

 

[Jen]

What is important is that I know that my Team is keeping my seat for whenever I need it.

Only up to a point, I suspect

 

[Brogan]

As I have posted on the other Kubica thread, he won't be back and if he is, it will be short-lived.

 

[Incubus]

As I have posted on the other Kubica thread, he won't be back and if he is, it will be short-lived.

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A tenner that says he will.

 

[RevMaxPower]

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A tenner that says he will.

You're on! I agree with Brogan...

 

[Pyrope]

I have to admit to feeling a little pessimistic about BobKub. I can't think of a single driver who has managed to make a full recovery after the sort of injuries he sustained. Alessandro Nanninni is the closest in actual trauma terms, and although he drove again it wasn't F1, and it certainly wasn't F1 in the modern times of delicate, fiddly steering wheel controls, flappy paddle gearshifts and hand clutches. Those drivers who have suffered lower leg mashings (think Herbert or Brundle, for example) were never really the same again, and never came close to fulfilling the promise that they had shown earlier in their careers.

Got to say that I think Brogan may well be proven right in time. Sad, but I live in hope of being proven very wrong!

 

[Incubus]

Well Nannini actually had his hand totally severed so I'm not sure you can compare the two.

 

[Pyrope]

Yes, you can. Kubica severed both major nerves, both his radius and ulna, and most of the major blood vessels. Apart from a small flap of skin his hand was essentially amputated. The injuries are actually pretty similar in their biomechanical implications.

 

[Mezzer]

Alessandro Nanninni is the closest in actual trauma terms, and although he drove again it wasn't F1, and it certainly wasn't F1 in the modern times of delicate, fiddly steering wheel controls, flappy paddle gearshifts and hand clutches.

I've been saying the same thing since his injury. I can see him racing in Touring Cars with their sequential manual gearboxes but its the fact that the current steering wheel has 5000 buttons and switches on it that is going to be a challenge. I was watching some old in-cockpit footage from the Senna/Mansell era just last night and having a little chuckle to myself at how the wheel was a) round (so quaint! ), and b) had no buttons on it at all as far as I could see.

 

[Incubus]

Well, not on the steering wheel, but quite a few of them elsewhere.
And most of all, manual gearboxes and clutches for the majority of their F1 careers!

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

if he is, it will be short-lived.

You should get the prize for optimism, my friend!

It's likely to be a binary / digital event. Either he's coming back for a long time...or he'll find out soon if he's capable of being a Grand Prix winner again.

It won't be a middle ground, 'journeyman' scenario.

Yes, you can...The injuries are actually pretty similar in their biomechanical implications.

...but what about medical technology? It's 20 years of advancement. Look at Massa. He actually lived and, even though the goal posts moved, he actually came back to challenge for wins.

Medical advancement is one differentiator with Sandro Nannini...a second one is will. Kubica has a will unlike Nannini's. I saw the entire careers of both...and Kubica just has a gigantic will and belief.

Will power is a differentiating factor some times.

 

[Incubus]

I can't believe this Ray, I'm actually agreeing with you on something!!!!

Absolutely spot-on about the difference 20 years make in terms of medical advancement, which is precisely what I was gonna say.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

..............................

 

[Jen]

I think he's dead in the water, much as it pains me - he may well come back as a driver but not in F1.

 

[teabagyokel]

I don't know. It is unwise to speculate.

 

[Pyrope]

...but what about medical technology? It's 20 years of advancement. Look at Massa. He actually lived and, even though the goal posts moved, he actually came back to challenge for wins.

Massa's recovery was far more due to modern helmet technology than medical technology. As for the progress in medicine, Hakkinen suffered a much more serious head injury in 1995 and was racing again in 1996. We are getting on for 20 years since that event and I don't see too much difference in their recovery rates. Medicine is good, but it isn't magic. You sever a nerve and it still takes many months for it to heal, if it ever does.

 

[Incubus]

Massa's recovery was far more due to modern helmet technology than medical technology.

How so? Was he wearing his helmety throughout rehab?
Massa's survival was due to modern helmet technology. His recovery was down to modern medical technology and the competence of those hungarian doctors, surgeons and nurses, as well as his own mental toughness and will to cooperate with his doctors' guidelines.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Massa's recovery was far more due to modern helmet technology than medical technology... Medicine is good, but it isn't magic. You sever a nerve and it still takes many months for it to heal, if it ever does.

As Incubus says Massa's 'survival' was due to modern helmet technology. Helmet safety actually even improved year over year 2008 to 2009 so that helped enormously in itself...And you're right that medicine isn't "magic" and that a nerve is a nerve...but I'm sure that the way in which Kubica's hand was put back together was exponentially more advanced than the way Sandro Nannini's fully severed forearm was put back together.

I believe in Sandro's case the doctors merely wanted to get the forearm back on him without any view to him shifting gears on a (heavy) manual stick shifter Formula One car...In RK's case, they probably had a feeling - likely pushed so by Renault - that they wanted to 'put him back together' for the purposes of going Grand Prix racing again.

And I believe RK's will power to be at the Sharp End again is greater than what Sandro's likely was (although I don't know either of them...we know what a powerful 'will' the Pole has. He's the only Pole ever to have achieved what he has whereas there have been umpteen Italians before and since Nannini came along. That's a huge difference. RK hasn't finished what he started.)

You may be right...but i'm wanting to see the glass half full on this one. Cheers, Pyrope!

 

[Galahad]

And I believe RK's will power to be at the Sharp End again is greater than what Sandro's likely was (although I don't know either of them...we know what a powerful will the Pole has. He's the only Pole ever to achieve what he has where as there have been umpteen Italians before and since Nannini came along. That's a huge difference.)

Gee, Ray, you need to talk to Alex Zanardi.

 

[Incubus]

I think bottom line is, Kubica had his crash seven months ago. If there was no hope whatsoever he'll make a recovery complete enough to return to F1 we would have known by now.
If not even the doctors responsible for his rehab programme are able to say anything definite about his future racing prospects at this stage, what hope do we motorsport forum members have of evaluating his chances?
Wait and see is the only thing we can rightfully do so what's the point of speculating one way or the other on something we can't possibly know about?

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Gee, Ray, you need to talk to Alex Zanardi.

Huh? I'm at a loss. Kindly explain.