Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Polish
Entries	57
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	9
Career points	137
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
First win	2008 Canadian Grand Prix
Last win	2008 Canadian Grand Prix
Last entry	2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2009 position	14th (17 pts)

Robert Kubica (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɔbɛrt kuˈbitsa] ; 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, Kubica took his maiden F1 victory in the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the 99th driver to win a World Championship race. From the 2010 season, Kubica will be racing for Renault.

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 (3.0 kW) 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 - present)

BMW Sauber (2006 - 2009)

2006

In 2006, Kubica became the official reserve driver for the BMW Sauber Formula One team. 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 German Grand Prix; 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 Hungarian Grand Prix. 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. Villeneuve decided to leave the BMW Sauber team soon after the race, and Kubica's position in the team for the remainder of the season was confirmed by BMW.

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

Kubica had a more disappointing race at the Turkish Grand Prix, 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 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 was the first driver since Villeneuve in 1996 to finish on the podium within his first three Formula One starts.

In China, 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's violent crash at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix

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 Canadian Grand Prix Kubica had a serious crash approaching the hairpin on lap 27, in which his car made contact with Jarno Trulli's Toyota, and hit a hump in the grass which lifted the car's nose into the air and left him unable to brake or steer. 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. 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. 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. It was initially reported that Kubica could have a broken leg. However, Mario Theissen later confirmed that he was not seriously injured.

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. On 14 June it was announced that as a precaution, Kubica would not race at the United States Grand Prix and would be replaced by test driver Sebastian Vettel. 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 21 August 2007. Over the first half of the season, Kubica qualified and finished strongly, including his and BMW Sauber's first pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix and second place finishes at the Malaysian and Monaco Grands Prix.

Kubica achieved the first win of his F1 career at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

On 8 June 2008 at the Canadian Grand Prix, Kubica achieved his first Formula 1 victory. He started second on the grid and passed race leader Lewis Hamilton in the first round of pitstops after the BMW Sauber pit crew completed a faster pitstop. On leaving the pits, Kubica and Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari halted at the pit lane exit, waiting for the red pit exit light to change. 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. He passed Heidfeld's sister BMW Sauber, running one refuelling stop to Kubica's two stop strategy, and gained the necessary 24 seconds over Heidfeld to ensure that he maintained the lead after his second stop 22 laps later. The BMW Saubers remained first and second to the end of the race. Kubica later joked that he should thank Hamilton for electing to crash into Räikkönen instead of him. The win gave Kubica the lead in the drivers' championship.

BMW Sauber's results were weaker over the second half of the season. 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's strongest result of the latter part of the year was in Japan where he 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) Apart from that, Kubica achieved podiums in the Street race in Valencia and in the rain affected race at Monza. Kubica finished the year fourth in the drivers' championship.

2009

Kubica driving for BMW Sauber at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix.

At the 2009 season opener in Melbourne, Kubica managed to qualify fourth on the grid. During the race, he was in third place and closing the gap to the front two cars before making contact with Sebastian Vettel while trying to overtake him. After the incident, Kubica continued briefly, but crashed into a wall at the next corner because his front wing had become stuck under the car. Vettel was later deemed responsible for the accident, and given a 10-place penalty on the grid for the next race in Malaysia.

BMW motorsport director, Mario Theissen, claimed that Kubica would have won the race ahead of Jenson Button had it not been for Vettel.

Kubica at the 2009 British Grand Prix.

At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Kubica qualified in eighth place, but was promoted to sixth following Vettel's ten-place grid penalty for causing the crash in Australia, and Rubens Barrichello's five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox. However, he retired very early in the race with engine problems. The next two races, the Chinese Grand Prix and the Bahrain Grand Prix were disappointing for the BMW Sauber team as both Kubica and his teammate Heidfeld finished outside the points with a non-competitive car. For the next race in Barcelona, BMW Sauber prepared a modified version of the F1.09. The car proved more competitive but a mistake in fitting the tyres to Kubica's car during Q3 meant he could only qualify in 10th position. In the race, after a bad start (due to a clutch issue) he finished once more out of the points. Kubica suffered from an engine failure during second practice in Monaco, and retired from the Grand Prix due to a brake issue. At the Turkish Grand Prix, the team introduced the double diffuser. The car's performance improved and Kubica managed to score his first points of the season with a 7th place. In the next 3 races both BMW Sauber drivers finished outside the points again, but during the European and Belgian Grands Prix again proved to be competitive, scoring 8th and 4th positions respectively. In Italy, Kubica suffered engine trouble in qualifying and then retired from the race due to mechanical failure. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Kubica finished 8th, defending his position from Kazuki Nakajima and Räikkönen in the last laps. He later stated it was "the most difficult point I have ever scored". At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Kubica scored his first podium of the season despite engine coolant problems by finishing in 2nd place, 7.6 seconds behind winner Mark Webber. The podium was BMW's second of the season.

On 29 July 2009, BMW announced they will leave Formula One at the end of 2009, making Kubica a free agent for the 2010 season. For the 2010 season, it has been announced that he has signed for Renault F1, the team he tested during his junior career.

Renault (2010)

Kubica testing for Renault at Jerez in February 2010.

Kubica moved to the Renault team for 2010. His position was briefly put in doubt, however, by the team evaluating its future in the sport following the 2009 season in the wake of the "Crashgate" scandal and the parent company's financial problems. This resulted in a Luxembourg-based investment firm, Genii Capital, taking a 75% stake in the team; Renault retaining the remaining 25%. Eric Boullier was also appointed as the new team manager. Kubica said he might not stay with Renault, as his contract was only valid if the parent company had a controlling stake in the team, but he then decided to remain with them. On 31 January 2010, it was announced that Vitaly Petrov was to be Kubica's team-mate.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team Name	Races	Poles	Wins	Points	Final Placing
2001	Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup	RC Motorsport	10	1	0	46	14th
	Formula Renault 2000 Italy		5	0	0	27	13th
2002	Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup	RC Motorsport	8	1	0	80	7th
	Formula Renault 2000 Italy		10	3	4	188	2nd
	Formula Renault 2000 Brazil	RS2	1	1	1	?	?
2003	Formula Three Euroseries	Prema Powerteam	13	0	1	31	12th
	British Formula Three		2	0	0	0	NC
	Masters of Formula Three		1	0	0	N/A	33rd
	Macau Grand Prix	Target Racing	1	0	0	N/A	NC
	F3 Korea Super Prix		1	0	0	N/A	6th
2004	Formula Three Euroseries	Mücke Motorsport	20	0	0	53	7th
	Macau Grand Prix	Manor Motorsport	1	1	0	N/A	2nd
2005	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Epsilon Euskadi	17	3	4	154	1st
	Macau Grand Prix	Carlin Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	2nd
2006	Formula One	BMW Sauber	6	0	0	6	16th
2007	Formula One	BMW Sauber	16	0	0	39	6th
2008	Formula One	BMW Sauber	18	1	1	75	4th
2009	Formula One	BMW Sauber	17	0	0	17	14th

Complete Formula One results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	WDC	Points
2006	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber F1.06	BMW P86 2.4 V8	BHR TD	MAL TD	AUS TD	SMR TD	EUR TD	ESP TD	MON TD	GBR TD	CAN TD	USA TD	FRA TD	GER TD	HUN DSQ	TUR 12	ITA 3	CHN 13	JPN 9	BRA 9	16th	6
2007	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber F1.07	BMW P86/7 2.4 V8	AUS Ret	MAL 18	BHR 6	ESP 4	MON 5	CAN Ret	USA	FRA 4	GBR 4	EUR 7	HUN 5	TUR 8	ITA 5	BEL 9	JPN 7	CHN Ret	BRA 5		6th	39
2008	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber F1.08	BMW P86/8 2.4 V8	AUS Ret	MAL 2	BHR 3	ESP 4	TUR 4	MON 2	CAN 1	FRA 5	GBR Ret	GER 7	HUN 8	EUR 3	BEL 6	ITA 3	SIN 11	JPN 2	CHN 6	BRA 11	4th	75
2009	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber F1.09	BMW P86/9 2.4 V8	AUS 14	MAL Ret	CHN 13	BHR 18	ESP 11	MON Ret	TUR 7	GBR 13	GER 14	HUN 13	EUR 8	BEL 4	ITA Ret	SIN 8	JPN 9	BRA 2	ABU 10		14th	17

References

All Formula One race and championship results are taken from:

• Official Formula 1 Website. Archive: Results for 2006 - Present seasons Formula1.com. Retrieved 22 August 2006

External links

• Robert Kubica f1.com
• Official web site
• Career details
• Kubica statistics in Formula One