It's just a fact. Robert Kubica is one of those generational talents we only get the joy to see MAYBE every 10 years. He's also possibly one of the unluckiest drivers ever to grace Formula 1.
Those who recently started watching F1 will see that statement and assume I'm absolutely nuts. The Pole has recently been seen only as a test driver for Alfa Romeo and in 2019, as a Williams driver.
📸 Kubica in Alfa Romeo attire.
But there was a time where Robert Kubica was tipped for future greatness as he led the drivers championship while in just his second full Formula 1 season in 2008, driving for BMW Sauber, the team we now know as Alfa Romeo.
Debuting in 2006, Kubica started his first race in F1 in that year's Hungarian Grand Prix as a replacement for 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve who was suffering with 'headaches'. Kubica impressed at the Hungaroring, qualifying 9th ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld, and finishing 7th; before he was disqualified for having an underweight car.
📸 An F1 debut for Kubica close to home; Hungary 2006.
Kubica had impressed, and Villeneuve left the team, meaning Kubica would see out the 2006 season as Sauber's other driver next to Heidfeld. The Polish driver managed a podium in just his third race, at Monza, but managed no further points in the season; despite some good showings, largely finishing in strong positions, no lower than 13th in any race.
📸 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve left Sauber, claiming he didn't want to be part of a shootout for a seat with Kubica.
2007 was Kubica's first full season as he again partnered Heidfeld at Sauber, but despite again proving his worth on the F1 grid with 11 point scoring finishes from 18 races, his season was marred by a horrendous high speed crash in Canada, one of the Polish driver's most memorable F1 moments.
📸 Kubica came away from this relatively unscathed considering the magnitude of the accident.
On lap 26, Kubica made contact with the back of Jarno Trulli's Toyota car, launching the Pole's Sauber car over a bump launched his car into the air and across the track and into a concrete wall - narrowly avoiding the retired Toro Rosso car of Scott Speed - before bouncing back across the track, losing 3 wheels and the front portion of the car, exposing Kubica's feet before coming to a halt at the side of the circuit in front of the turn 10 hairpin grandstand.
📸 Kubica's car after hitting the wall.
Kubica was the subject of a 75G crash there, hitting the wall at around 186mph(300km/h).
📸 Kubica's car was left a mess in front of the grandstand.
Fortunately though, Kubica suffered only a sprained ankle and a light concussion. He'd miss the next round at Indianapolis, handing a debut to a young German by the name of Sebastian Vettel(not sure what he did after that, mind you).
📸 A young Seb Vettel prepares for his F1 debut.
From the incident, the Polish racer never really looked back, at one stage leading the 2008 championship after he took his first win, a year on from his crash at the same circuit, in Canada. The same season he scored his and Sauber's first pole position in Bahrain, and took seven podiums as he ended the year fourth, behind Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, behind winner Hamilton by just 23 points and level on points with third place Raikkonen.
📸 Redemption; Kubica wins in Canada in 2008.
The Sauber team struggled in 2009, but Kubica still managed to score the team's joint best result; with he and Heidfeld scoring second places in Brazil and Malaysia respectively.
📸 Kubica with Fernando Alonso(left).
For 2010, Kubica stepped up and joined the Renault team and delivered several excellent results for the team, scoring points in 15 out of 18 rounds and taking 3 podiums. His from this year prompted Ferrari to sign up the Pole for the 2012 season.
📸 Kubica races for Renault.
📸 With Renault.
For 2011, Kubica stayed with Renault as the team transitioned to Lotus after a buyout of the team was completed, and Kubica was expected to again perform well, but in February 2011 the Polish driver suffered a life changing accident.
During a rally event, Kubica crashed into a barrier and suffered some near fatal injuries, suffering significant blood loss, fractures to his elbow, shoulder, arm and leg, and a partial amputation of his right arm. He would not drive an F1 car again in 2017.
📸 The aftermath of Kubica's rally crash.
Kubica would have gone on to partner Fernando Alonso at Ferrari and it seems highly likely he'd have been just as able as the Spaniard to challenge for the title and disrupt the dominance of Vettel in the early 2010's, possibly winning the 2012, 2013 and 2014 titles.
He could have stayed on with Ferrari as Vettel's partner from 2015 and been helped to a title once again, before helping Vettel to one of his own in 2017. A Ferrari homecoming was always going to be on the cards for Raikkonen, so 2017 would signal the end of a 6 season Ferrari career, before finishing off where it started, with Sauber, potentially helping nurture the young talent that was Charles Leclerc in 2018.
Instead, Kubica was mounting a comeback, and after testing with Renault and Williams in 2017 and 2018, the comeback was completed when the Pole was announced as a full time Williams driver for 2019, alongside George Russell, after a year as the Williams reserve.
📸 Back in the car: Kubica's return was in the 2017 Renault car during mid-season testing at the Hungaroring.
Unfortunately for Kubica, Williams were at a low point and the Pole was tasked with helping develop the team with Russell. He scored the team's only point of the year, at the chaotic 2019 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
📸 Wheel to wheel with Hulkenberg at Hockenheim.
Kubica left the team at the years end and returned to Sauber, who had changed to become Alfa Romeo Sauber and has since taken part in several FP1 sessions with the team in his test and reserve role, and filled into for Kimi Raikkonen at Zandvoort and Monza when the Finn contracted COVID-19 in 2021.
📸 Kubica still holds a reserve role with Alfa Romeo.
The Polish driver unsatisfyingly, has raced 99 times in Formula 1. Can the opportunity for one more race come up for the Pole? I really hope he gets one more go; he is undoubtedly one of the most talented drivers ever to grace Formula 1, and was unlucky to be unfairly robbed of a shot at F1 immortality.
Dzięki za wspomnienia, Robert!
📸 Image credit(s): Alfa Romeo ORLEN F1 Team, Formula Motorsport Limited, ESPN, Alpine F1 Team
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