Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica in Warsaw, 2006
Nationality Polish
Formula One World Championship career
2008 team	BMW Sauber
2008 car #	4
2009 team	BMW Sauber
Races	40
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podium finishes	8
Career points	120
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First race	2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
First win	2008 Canadian Grand Prix
Last win	2008 Canadian Grand Prix
Last race	2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
2008 position	4th (75 pts)

Robert Kubica (/'rɔbɛrt ku'bitsa/ ("koo-bit-sa") listen; born: December 7, 1984 in Kraków, Poland) is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. From 2006 he has driven for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006. In June 2008 he achieved his maiden F1 victory in the unpredictable Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the 99th F1 racer to win a Grand Prix.

Career

Pre-Formula One

Karting

Kubica developed his love for all kinds of cars at the young age of four when he spotted a small off-road vehicle, powered by a 4 bhp petrol engine. After long talks with his parents, his father, Artur, bought him the car and young Kubica spent long hours driving around plastic bottles. When he got older it became apparent that he needed better equipment, so his father bought him a go-kart. However, Kubica was too young to start racing in the Polish Karting Championship as he was under the age of ten. When he entered the championship, he won six titles in three years. After his third season, Kubica decided to switch to a more competitive league in Italy. In 1998 Kubica became the first foreigner to win the International Italian Junior Karting Championship.

Kubica also scored second place in the European Junior Karting Championship and won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup held on part of the Formula One Grand Prix track. A year later, he defended his title in Italy and also competed in the International German Karting Championship. He also won the Monaco Kart Cup for the second time in a row, as well as the Margutti Trophy and Elf Masters races. In 2000, his last season in karting, Kubica scored fourth places in both the European and World Championships.

Junior Formulae

Kubica with the Epsilon Euskadi team.

Kubica started his professional career in 2000, as a test driver for a Formula Renault 2000 car. During his first professional season in Formula Renault, Kubica scored his maiden pole position and also became a member of Renault's driver development programme. In 2002 Kubica won four races and scored a second place in the Italian Formula Renault 2000. He was also seventh in the Formula Renault Eurocup. At the end of the year he took part in a Brazilian Formula Renault 2000 race held at the Interlagos circuit. This one-off appearance resulted in a dominant win.

After Formula Renault, Kubica moved to the Formula Three Euro Series. However, his move was delayed by a road accident which left him with a broken arm, and titanium screws holding it together. At his delayed debut at Norisring, Kubica, driving with a plastic brace and 18 titanium bolts in his arm, won the race. He finished the season in 12th place. At the end of the year, Kubica won a street race in Sardinia and came fifth in races held in Macau and Korea. He ended his second season in the Formula 3 Euro Series, spent with the factory Mercedes team, in 7th position. In November 2004, he scored pole position in the Macau F3 Grand Prix, where he broke the lap record, but finished second in the race.

In 2005 he won the World Series by Renault championship with the Epsilon Euskadi team, earning Formula One tests with Renault.

Formula One

2006

Kubica driving the BMW Sauber F1.06 during Pre-Season testing in Barcelona.

In 2006 Kubica became the official third/test driver for the BMW Sauber Formula One team.^[1] His results in both Friday testing and private test sessions, along with the words of BMW Sauber's manager Mario Theissen, led to speculation that he would become Poland's first ever Formula One racing driver in 2007. In August 2006, Kubica's teammate, Jacques Villeneuve, complained about headaches after his accident during the 2006 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim; he was deemed unfit to race by the team, against his own belief, and Kubica was chosen by the team management to replace him at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.[1] Kubica qualified ninth, beating his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld. In the race, he finished in seventh place, but was disqualified after the race for having an underweight car.^[2] Villeneuve decided to leave the BMW Sauber team soon after the race,^[3] and it looked certain that Kubica would stay on as Heidfeld's teammate until the end of the season and he might also drive for the team next year. This was confirmed after a BMW spokesperson told reporters that: "Robert Kubica will drive in the remaining races of the season. That is our current plan."^[4]

Kubica as BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 United States Grand Prix.

Kubica had a more disappointing race in Turkey, finishing in 12th place after a mistake in tyre choice. Heidfeld, who was delayed in a first-corner accident, placed behind Kubica.

In his third race, the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Kubica finished in third position, and became the first Polish driver to appear on a Formula One podium, as well as the first Polish driver to lead a Grand Prix. He is one of only two drivers in the last decade to finish on the podium within his first three Formula One starts, the other being Lewis Hamilton (Australia 2007).

In Kubica's fourth race, the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, he finished 13th, again after a mistake in tyre choice. After going off track at the first turn of the race, he moved from 17th position to fifth, before pitting. He was the first to change from intermediate tyres to dry tyres after the wet track started to dry. This decision was made too early: a very slow next lap in extremely wet and slippery conditions and another pit stop to change back to intermediates cost him his place in the points.

2007

Kubica driving for BMW Sauber at the 2007 British Grand Prix.

Kubica performed well during the 2007 season, finishing consistently in point scoring positions. At the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix Kubica had a serious crash approaching the hairpin on lap 27 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, in which his car became airborne and crashed after contact with Jarno Trulli's Toyota. ^[5] and hit a hump in the grass, lifting the car's nose into the air and leaving him unable to brake or steer. The speed measured when his car clipped the barrier was 300.13 km/h (186.49 mph), at a 75 degree angle, subjecting Kubica to an average deceleration of 28g. After data from the onboard accident data recorder had been analysed it was found that he had been subjected to a peak G-force of 75 G.^[6] The car then rolled as it came back across the track, striking the wall on the outside of the hairpin and coming to rest on its side. Under safety car conditions, Kubica was removed from the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre, where he was announced to be "stable", although no information regarding potential injuries was known at this time. Shortly afterwards, his manager Daniele Morelli said Kubica was conscious and talking.^[7] It was initially reported that Kubica could have a broken leg.^[8] However, Mario Theissen later confirmed that he was not seriously injured.^[9][10]

Further reports from late evening on race day, directly from the hospital, confirmed that Kubica had suffered a light concussion alongside a sprained ankle. After being kept in overnight for observation, Kubica left hospital the following day.^[11] On June 14 it was announced that as a precaution Kubica would not race at Indianapolis and would be replaced by test driver Sebastian Vettel.^[12] After missing Indianapolis, he returned for the French Grand Prix where he qualified and finished in fourth place, receiving ITV broadcaster Martin Brundle's driver of the day award. He then went on to finish fourth again at the British Grand Prix.

2008

Kubica's retention as race driver for 2008 was confirmed on August 21, 2007.^[13] Kubica qualified second on the grid at the opening race of the 2008 season, the Australian Grand Prix, behind Lewis Hamilton. He retired from the race after a collision with Kazuki Nakajima.

Kubica won the first race of his F1 career at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

In the Malaysian Grand Prix, Kubica finished second.

On April 5, 2008 at the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix, Kubica scored his first pole position of his Formula One career (also first pole for his team), narrowly beating Felipe Massa. He finished the race in third.

On May 25, 2008 at the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, Kubica finished second, after starting 5th on the grid.

On June 8, 2008 at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Kubica achieved his first ever victory after starting in 2nd, putting him in the Championship lead.^[14] Kubica effectively won the race in the pit lane, first passing race leader Lewis Hamilton after the BMW pit crew completed a faster pitstop. Kubica and Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari duly halted at the pit lane exit, waiting for the red pit exit light to change. However, Lewis Hamilton, running immediately behind them, missed the light and crashed into Räikkönen's Ferrari, eliminating both cars from the race. Kubica rejoined the race well positioned for the eventual victory.

Nick Heidfeld in the other BMW Sauber, running a one stop fuel strategy, briefly positioned himself in front of Kubica after a pit stop, but running a much heavier car, was overtaken by his lighter team-mate. Heidfeld then kept a charging Fernando Alonso at bay. The strategy of BMW Sauber required one more pit stop for Kubica. To beat Heidfield, Kubica needed to gain at least 24 seconds on his team-mate over 22 laps, and after the last pit stop he emerged just a second ahead of Heidfeld. Kubica's victory was never challenged for the remainder of the race, with BMW taking first and the second.

Kubica later joked that he should thank Hamilton for electing to crash into Räikkönen instead of him.^[15]

At the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, Kubica finished 5th, reporting that this was a lost race, complaining about aerodynamic problems with the car.

Kubica has been confirmed as staying with BMW Sauber for the 2009 season.^[16]

At the Japanese Grand Prix Kubica qualified sixth. At the start several drivers braked too late for the first corner. Kubica took an inside line overtaking several cars and emerged in the lead. He led for 16 laps, but lost his lead to Fernando Alonso at the first round of pit stops. Kubica finished second after defending his position towards the end of the race against Räikkönen in a faster Ferrari (his fastest race lap was 0.6 seconds quicker than the Pole's)^[17][18]

Racing record

Kubica testing the BMW Sauber F1.08 in January 2008.

Career summary

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Footnotes

References

External links

• Robert Kubica f1.com
• Kubica's crash data disclosed
• Kubica's 75Gs, and We Don't Mean Money
• Official web site
• Fans Website
• Formula One Polish site
• Robert Kubica english fan site
• Robert Kubica's Unofficial english Fan Site
• Career details
• Kubica statistics in Formula One
• Robert Kubica Fan Club

BMW Sauber Personnel: Mario Theissen | Peter Sauber | Willy Rampf Current drivers: Nick Heidfeld | Robert Kubica | Christian Klien | Marko Asmer Formula One cars: F1.06 | F1.07 | F1.08