Paul Jeffrey
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Fan favourite and Formula One exile Robert Kubica continues on the comeback trail as Renault F1 confirm the Polish driver will be granted a second test with the team.
Having impressed many behind the scenes at Renault during his mammoth day of running at Valencia back in June, Kubica and Renault have confirmed another more focussed test has been scheduled in order to find out if the 32-year-old former race winner has what it takes to compete at the pinnacle of open wheel motorsport.
"There are still many hurdles for him to overcome, and he knows better than anyone else that only his performance will determine if he can one day return to being a professional driver," says Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul.
"Whilst the first day of testing at Valencia was no more than to let Robert get reacquainted with the feel of driving again, this second test will be to assess his capabilities to return to the highest level of competition.
"This is a new phase in his personal and professional journey and we are proud to support him in the form of lending our infrastructure at Paul Ricard that is suitable for professional and non-professional drivers."
The test in Paul Ricard is not expected to be in current Formula One machinery, due to the strict regulations governing the kind of running active Grand Prix teams can undertake outside of a race weekend, however with a programme designed to test both the endurance and outright speed of the driver it will indeed be an important step in his rehabilitation as he fights to regain a place on the Formula One grid.
Speaking to Auto Express at Goodwood, Kubica confirmed that despite the lingering limitations following his rally accident, the driver remains at the peak of his physical fitness -
“I try to be prepared as best as I can; of course I have my limitations. I have to compensate with my left hand so it has to be fitter than ever I was in the past. And I am. My physical fitness preparation was never so good as it is now. It costs a lot of time but now it has become a kind of daily routine for me, which is giving me a good feeling of daily life.”
“My first target was to see if I could be capable of doing it. So this is more or less done. Second, let’s say, realistically talking, is raising the game slowly and step by step. F1 is a tough competition and I have been away from racing a long time. I think most of the question marks I had are gone, and I’m very comfortable with it. Actually it was a huge relief for me because this test would have been a case of, ‘Yes, I can do this’ or ‘No, I have to close the door on F1 forever’.”
If Kubica could return to race action in Formula One, and pick up where he left off at the end of 2010, this could well be one of the most emotional and impressive sporting comebacks in the history of Grand Prix racing.“My first target was to see if I could be capable of doing it. So this is more or less done. Second, let’s say, realistically talking, is raising the game slowly and step by step. F1 is a tough competition and I have been away from racing a long time. I think most of the question marks I had are gone, and I’m very comfortable with it. Actually it was a huge relief for me because this test would have been a case of, ‘Yes, I can do this’ or ‘No, I have to close the door on F1 forever’.”
Would you like to see Kubica return to Formula One? Could the driver have fought for a World Championship if his career hadn't ended so suddenly? Let us know in the comments section below!
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