Post by Lee on Aug 3, 2017 12:20:04 GMT
Following his highly anticipated return to the wheel of a contemporary Formula 1 car on Wednesday Robert Kubica was giving nothing away.
Driving around the Hungaroring and reportedly setting competitive times in both long and short runs while giving "excellent" feedback to the Renault engineers, the 32-year-old Pole looked like any other grand prix driver. Yet Six and a half years ago he lay in a hospital in northern Italy fighting for his life following a horrific rally accident, in which a steel roadside barrier penetrated his car, and then its driver. The accident left him with multiple fractures down the right-hand side of his body and a partially severed right arm.
Two years after the accident, Kubica referred to any potential F1 return as a "nearly impossible" dream and yet this week he completed two grand prix distances on what many consider one of the toughest tracks on the calendar.
If he does return to F1 after more than six years and be competitive, it would rank as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. Renault will know what they have seen, and if that is anything like the Kubica of old, it would be no surprise to see him in the car in place of Palmer at some point this year, perhaps even from the next race in Belgium at the end of this month.
Driving around the Hungaroring and reportedly setting competitive times in both long and short runs while giving "excellent" feedback to the Renault engineers, the 32-year-old Pole looked like any other grand prix driver. Yet Six and a half years ago he lay in a hospital in northern Italy fighting for his life following a horrific rally accident, in which a steel roadside barrier penetrated his car, and then its driver. The accident left him with multiple fractures down the right-hand side of his body and a partially severed right arm.
Two years after the accident, Kubica referred to any potential F1 return as a "nearly impossible" dream and yet this week he completed two grand prix distances on what many consider one of the toughest tracks on the calendar.
If he does return to F1 after more than six years and be competitive, it would rank as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. Renault will know what they have seen, and if that is anything like the Kubica of old, it would be no surprise to see him in the car in place of Palmer at some point this year, perhaps even from the next race in Belgium at the end of this month.
