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Renault driver Rober Kubica targets F1 return this year


BBC Formula 1 pundits on Kubica's rally accident

Injured Renault driver Robert Kubica says he is planning to return to racing before the end of the year.
The Pole suffered multiple fractures to his arm and leg and a partially severed right hand following a crash in Sunday's Ronde di Andora rally.
Kubica, 26, is expected to miss the whole of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
But he told Gazzetta dello Sport: "I want to return this year. I am really determined to reduce the recovery time with a very defined programme."
Kubica was due to have surgery on his foot, upper arm and elbow on Friday and Monday at the Santa Corona Hospital, 35 miles south-west of Genoa, but doctors now hope to carry out all remaining operations on Friday.

The fingers work and so does the arm, I can feel them
Robert Kubica
Dr Francesco Lanza said: "If possible we would like to do everything in a single session.
"Obviously it depends on the patient's general state because the surgery time would be long - six or seven hours."
Lanza, head of traumatology and orthopaedics at Savona's Santa Corona Hospital, added: "Friday's session is long: there is the astragalus, the humerus, the neck of the humerus, perhaps we'll need to insert some bone material, so that's already a complex operation.
"On top of that there is the elbow but, yes, we were thinking of doing surgery in a single session."
After crashing his Skoda Fabia against a church wall, Kubica was put in an induced coma following seven hours of surgery before waking briefly on Monday but has since been moved from intensive care to a trauma unit
Speaking to the media for the first time, Kubica, who finished eighth in the 2010 drivers' table, said: "The fingers work and so does the arm, I can feel them.
"But I still have to undergo another operation and then I will know.
"I cannot move much right now. But I don't have much pain because I'm sedated.

KUBICA STATS & FACTS


Team: Renault
Former team: BMW Sauber
Team-mate: Vitaly Petrov
Nationality: Polish
Born: 7/12/1984, Krakow
F1 GP debut: Hungary 2006
"On Saturday, I will be able to know what my condition is after I undergo the double surgery.
"Then there will be the countdown to begin preparation. I only have that in mind."
A highly-rated talent, not only has Kubica targeted a return before the end of 2011 but he says he also wants to come back a better driver.
"I want to return stronger than before," said Kubica, who has had serious accidents in the past, requiring surgery to his left arm after being a passenger in a road accident in 2003, and then missing the 2007 United States Grand Prix after a serious crash in Canada.
"After this accident, you are no longer the same, you are better.
"I had already gone through that in 2007 after the crash in Canada.
"I was out for one race and when I came back I was better. A driver is not just about accelerating and steering.
"There is a difference between those that drive at 85% and those that drive at 95%. The 15% remaining is the capacity and motivation that comes out of you.
"Since 2007, I'm a stronger driver and I'm stronger mentally. It will be the same this time when I recover physically."
Kubica said he was still trying to piece together the sequence of events that led to his accident, where a guard-rail penetrated the front of his car, causing his injuries.

When he arrived in hospital he had only one litre of blood. "Call the boy's parents," the doctors told me on Sunday afternoon. I felt a chill in my spine
Kubica's agent Daniele Morelli
"I really don't know what happened because I don't remember anything of the accident," Kubica explained.
"I just found myself in hospital and my agent Daniele Morelli has explained everything to me.
"I am saddened with what has happened. It should not have happened.
"I am sorry for my mother because I have made her worry and suffer.
"One does this job but never thinks of the consequences. I just know that I did the rally and now I am in this bed."
Morelli added: "When he arrived in hospital he had only one litre of blood. 'Call the boy's parents', the doctors told me on Sunday afternoon. I felt a chill in my spine."
Renault team principal Eric Boullier told BBC Sport that Kubica was understandably down about his accident and injuries but claimed it was still too soon to say for certain that he will miss the whole season.
"All I know for now is that for the next three months for sure he won't be back. After that, it could be four, five, six," said Boullier.
"He needs at least three months to recover physically, and then we see.
"He is recovering well. It is going fast actually, because he is a sportsman, so it is much faster than it would be with anyone else," continued Boullier.
"He started to feed himself today, and everything is moving. Now is the time for sticking all the bones together and educating the muscles, but we don't know how long that will take."
Kubica had shown excellent early-season form after topping the fastest times in the first testing session in Valencia last week in Renault's new R31.
Meanwhile, Red Bull's Mark Webber has sent his best wishes to Kubica.
"It was a big shock for all of us, I couldn't believe it," said the Australian.
"I'm happy, as it looks like the people involved have done an incredible job for him after the accident to keep him in the best shape possible.
"It's a big loss for our sport that he's not here this year and a big loss for us as competitors, as we're motivated to race against the best guys in the world and Robert is one of them.
"I wish him all the best for his recovery; every day he'll make progress and I'm looking forward to having him back when he is ready."