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What happened to Robert Kubica in 2010?
Kubica was quoted as the next big thing in Formula One, being the first from his country Poland to ever compete in Formula 1 when he drove for BMW Sauber F1 team between 2006 to 2009. In June 2008, he won his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Canada, also becoming the first from his country to achieve the feat. Kubica was on the verge of F1 greatness when a rallying accident in 2011 cut short his career and almost took his life and right hand. Kubica perfectly defines how we can fight our odds, when we are passionate about the stuff we love doing, in his case it was racing in F1. Six years later, he is the people's and many current formula one drivers’ favorite, to help Williams out of its lackluster seasons in recent years.
Kubica performed his duties as the test driver of Williams F1 racing on his return to F1, many online petitions are being signed by his fans across the globe for promoting him to a full time driver in Williams, given the potential he has shown in testing on his return after the horrific crash, which amputated part of his right hand.
Let’s take a trip down the memory lane and look at the five best racing moments of Robert Kubica.
Formula Renault 3.5 champion- 2005
For 2005, he completely dominated the championship, winning four races and scoring 154 points compared to the 116 of runner-up Adrian Vales. He was rewarded with an F1 test with Renault F1 but he ended up being signed as BMW-Sauber, test and reserve driver.
Third place in the third race of his career – 2006
With BMW giving him the seat full time, it didn’t take long for him to show the team why they have made the right choice. He was able to comfortably score a podium in one of the fastest tracks in the F1 calendar, Monza and held off Felipe to take the first podium finish of his career in third place.
First Pole in Bahrain – 2008
After his accident in 2007, Kubica was generally outpaced by his teammate Heidfeld. However, he made a spectacular comeback in 2008, taking the front row in the season opener in Australia and finished a strong second in Malaysia. He took the first and only pole position for Sauber F1 in its 25 years of racing in Bahrain. However, less fuel in his car did not help him convert the pole into a win and he finished 5 seconds adrift the Ferrari of Massa.
A win in Canada – 2008
One year after his horrendous crash in Canada, he returned to the same circuit to take the first win of his career, in a race which was marred by incidents. There were plenty more strong races for Kubica in 2008 but the BMW Sauber F1 team’s decision to focus on the 2009 car, made the team slip behind McLaren and Ferrari and as a result of which Robert finished the season fourth overall in the championship.
Street Track Racing Genius
BMW Sauber withdrew from F1 in 2009 due to rising costs, made Robert find his ways into Renault F1, which at the time was not as competitive as in its heydays with Alonso. However, Kubica’s ability to ring the neck of any F1 car made Formula 1 pundits think otherwise. He was on his way of taking pole in Monaco in 2010, when an in-form Mark Webber denied him pole. There were plenty of great drive from his that season which showed his potential of turning a lackluster car to run for podiums in Melbourne and Spa.
With a driver his potential ending up as a reserve driver in Williams Racing, and drivers like Lance Stroll whose billionaire father has reportedly spent close to $80 million to get his son a full-time seat only raises one question towards the sport ‘Is Money Given More Importance Over Talent in F1’? That will be a discussion of another day.
But whatever it may be F1 can never write off a driver like Robert Kubica who has still a lot of racing left in him and his fans to cheer for!!!
