Kubica injured in rally crash - Now rallying again...

Glad to see Heidfeld got the seat. Bruno would have been cool just for nostalgia reasons, but beyond that there was no reason to choose him over Nick. I'm hoping Nick finally get's a win.
 
Great to know Nick got another seat this season. I've been wanting to see him on the top spot of the podium for a loooooong time, then this year might be his chance to prove it!
 
Well its no surprise that Quick Nick got the seat, as talented as Bruno or Grosjean are I think they are no match for Heidfelds experience and consistency. (he has the most consecutive race classifications in F1 after all) Just hope that Heidfeld can finally prove that he could finally be a title contender among the best of them, and this season will probably be his most important season yet! 👍
 
I think there is a realistic chance Kubica could recover early enough in the season to come back and win the championship, that is, no later than 4-6 races into the season imo, I don't have anything against Nick, but I hope Kubica manages to recover in time.

But if Kubica was looking to rejoin any later than that, what if Heidfeld is leading the championship? or one of the top 3 close together in points, that's going to be a sticky situation.

I know F1 teams don't worry about this, they take each week as it comes, and there's a good probability that it won't happen.

Although Heidfeld may possibly win the championship, I'm sure many believe that Kubica can match and/or perform better than Heidfeld on any day, and in a sense if Heidfeld did win the WC, Kubica fans will feel that it's Kubica's championship too, per se, it's sure looked like Renault have built a top car for 2011 all along, and he has been robbed of what was set to be his best season yet, but he has no one to blame but himself (although nature caused the bumps to develop in that road).
 
RTSolvalou
I think there is a realistic chance Kubica could recover early enough in the season to come back and win the championship, that is, no later than 4-6 races into the season imo, I don't have anything against Nick, but I hope Kubica manages to recover in time.
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No chance. The doctors in chrage of his surgery say his rehabilitation could take up to a year. Four races in is mid-May. That's way too soon for him to recover.
 
And even if he does come back early in the season, it would be unlikely that he'd win the championship. Unless we had a season like last and the only person that could win consistently would be kubica.

I agree, it is a difficult situation for Renault if Heidfeld's doing well but Kubica (and his doctors) decide he's ready.
 
RTSolvalou
Although Heidfeld may possibly win the championship, I'm sure many believe that Kubica can match and/or perform better than Heidfeld on any day, and in a sense if Heidfeld did win the WC, Kubica fans will feel that it's Kubica's championship too, per se, it's sure looked like Renault have built a top car for 2011 all along, and he has been robbed of what was set to be his best season yet, but he has no one to blame but himself (although nature caused the bumps to develop in that road).
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Well the pre-season testing is nothing to go by, and nobody knows who is the best team out there yet (even if Renault were likely to be really competitive this year) its hard to say what is what until the season actually begins. I have no doubt that Heidfeld could be a title contender this year, but anything could happen that nobody expects. Even if Heidfeld won the championship, it still took his effort to race and help develop the car even more that would Kubica would do so to say him robbing Kubica's title is a bit unfair.

Also the accident was indeed a bit unlucky for Kubica and well... he risked racing in another series which he knows there would be other risk that could put him out of F1, but that is the guy Kubica is. If he does quickly rehabilitate in time for this season, I think he is really unlikely to win the championship this year...
 
I think it's unlikely he'll race again at all this year, maybe come back for the last couple of races but I think the severity of his injuries will mean he probably can't drive anything at all for any length of time until early summer.


I really do hope he comes back just as strong as he was but I'm worried he'll have a lasting negative effect from the accident (lack of strength in that hand or something) which would be a real shame as he's an excellent driver and by all accounts a top bloke too.
 
The Renault team - and Formula One in general - was dealt a heavy blow in February when star driver Robert Kubica was ruled out of the start of the 2011 season following a serious crash during the Ronde di Andora Rally in Italy. Several surgeries and over two months later, Kubica is finally looking forward to leaving hospital and briefly heading home, before commencing the rehabilitation programme which everyone hopes will precede his F1 return. Speaking to his team’s official website, the Pole had the following to say to his fans…

Robert Kubica: Hello everybody, here I am. Sorry for the delay in contacting you but I preferred to wait until the moment I could finally share some positive news with you. First of all I would like to pay a huge amount of thanks to my fans whose support has been simply incredible since my accident in Italy back in February. I have been literally submerged by letters and various gifts and objects and it seems the flow is not slowing down. I also want to thank all the people in the world of F1 who showed in various manners their concern for the difficult situation I’m in.

Q: Robert, just over 10 weeks on from your accident - how are you feeling?
RK: I am starting to feel a lot better now. My recovery is moving in the right direction: my strength and weight are increasing day on day and as a result I will leave the Santa Corona hospital very soon.

Q: When exactly will you leave the hospital?
RK: I don’t have a precise date as yet but I hope to be able to leave within the next 10 days.

Q: Concerning the injury to your hand, how is the mobility now?
RK: The mobility of my hand is limited but this is pretty normal in this kind of situation, because the connected arm muscles are still very weak due to the long period of immobility. Things are definitely improving day by day.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your rehabilitation programme?
RK: As soon as I leave hospital, I’ll head to my home in Monaco for a short period of rest. Then I’ll move to Dr Ceccarelli‘s facilities in Italy where I will start a deep rehabilitation program and a preliminary soft training programme. The two programmes will gradually cross over based on the speed of my recovery.

Q: There’s been an amazing reaction from the fans - how has the response helped your recovery?
RK: I must admit that it’s been overwhelming and, yes, it’s helped me a lot. I really didn’t realise that quite this many fans were supporting me. I’m very flattered and I promise them that, when I’m back, I’ll give them my absolute best.

Q: Have you been staying in regular touch with the team since you’ve been away?
RK: Yes, of course. Especially since the season started, I’ve been liaising with my engineers on what’s been going on over race weekends. They are sending me the race reports so I can remain up to date and fully informed, as if I were there at the tracks. (Team principal) Eric Boullier is also in constant contact, keeping up to date with my general condition.

Q: Have you watched all the races so far this year, and what are you making of the new season and Lotus Renault GP’s performances so far?
RK: Yes I’ve watched them, and there is no doubt that it’s been a strong start to the season. The potential of the car, which I already noticed in the February Valencia test, seems to be confirmed. As usual, it’s now important that the development done in Enstone continues to produce consistent updates for maintaining this level of performance. The guys did a great job with this car and I’m sure they’ll continue to improve.

Q: Finally, what messages would you like to pass on to your supporters in the Formula One world?
RK: Well, just continue to enjoy the F1 show even though I’m not there at the moment. From my side, I’ll try to use my difficult experience to come back as strong as I possibly can.
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http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2011/4/11962.html
 
Reading between the lines, looks like he's aiming to be back by next year barring any major complications. We'll just have to see if he can be successful right off the bat or whether it takes some time for him to get back to top form.
 
Pretty good news, delighted to hear that Rob is fine and keen on returning to F1.
 
I'm already missing him. It's unfortunate to go through in an interesting season ever in Formula 1 since a long time ago without Robert... It does sounded like he feels good there, so am I here. Get well soon and take care Robert!

Hopefully you'll be back next year. I promise you something for next year's race in Sepang mate ;)👍
 
Why not? His results have been good enough I'd say, he's ahead of Petrov in the Championship, and he's the next driver up after the front runners.
 
PeterJB
Why not? His results have been good enough I'd say, he's ahead of Petrov in the Championship, and he's the next driver up after the front runners.
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I think Renault may believe their car is better than it actually is.
 
I think that's a bit harsh when he is outperforming Petrov, although it's quite marginal. I'd say the two are quite well matched. I'd still like to see Bruno be given at least one race weekend in the car.
 
PeterJB
Why not? His results have been good enough I'd say, he's ahead of Petrov in the Championship, and he's the next driver up after the front runners.
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His results have been good enough too I'd say but Eric was referring to his pace in qualifying which also in my opinion needed to be addressed. For sure if he had a much better qualifying pace, there'll be a much better chance for him to finish higher. Comes the race, his pace with Vitaly isn't that far away or sometimes he's ahead of Vitaly...

Though I'm a fan of Nick, I still would love to see a weekend drive from Senna. I think he deserves a chance...
 
Just read that Kubica is now able to walk without anyone helping him now, which is progress. He says he is mentally fine, and still hopes to be racing in 2012. He is recovering without complications. I guess it's still an unknown it he will ever be able to drive a car competitively. But at least he will be able to drive. I think he will need 2012 to retrain and to adjust, with some F1 testing, a try at it in 2013 if successful.
 
Matti_Dude
I think that's a bit harsh when he is outperforming Petrov, although it's quite marginal. I'd say the two are quite well matched. I'd still like to see Bruno be given at least one race weekend in the car.
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Perhaps they will give him a shot at the final race of the season (and his home race) the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Moot
Just read that Kubica is now able to walk without anyone helping him now, which is progress. He says he is mentally fine, and still hopes to be racing in 2012. He is recovering without complications. I guess it's still an unknown it he will ever be able to drive a car competitively. But at least he will be able to drive. I think he will need 2012 to retrain and to adjust, with some F1 testing, a try at it in 2013 if successful.
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Just read it here. You have to admire this guys commitment. He's only been able to walk without assistance recently, but he's still trying to come back next season. Right now, someone should make a documentary about his recovery. Personally, I imagine a Rocky style training montage.
 
Isn't it amazing how Heidfeld continually picks up points even when he appears to be always behind Petrov in all sessions. Somehow, at the end of every F1 season, Heidfeld has always consistently been in the points, it still amazes me when we see him very rarely in the races.
Sadly, Rosberg is heading the same way lately, never appears in the races but is always in the top 10 every race. "Unsung heroes" indeed.
 

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