KUBICA CRASHES IN RALLY Ð UNLIKELY TO RACE THS SEASON
- 29 May 2013
Robert Kubica is likely to be out of action for the entire 2011 Formula 1 season as a result of the serious injuries he sustained in his accident on the opening stage of the Ronde di Andora rally. He had lost control of his Super 2000 Skoda Fabia just a few kilometres into the event and clipped the wall of a church. The car then rebounded across the road and struck a crash barrier head on. The Armco penetrated the cockpit of the car through the firewall and hit Kubica, badly injuring the right-hand side of his body. As well as multiple fractures to his right arm and leg, of more immediate concern was his partially severed right hand. His co-driver Jakub Gerber was not injured.
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Robert underwent a seven-hour operation earlier today at the Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure. There were fears that the hand may have had to be amputated, but doctors managed to reattach the blood supply during a lengthy operation and are hoping the repair will be successful. "It has been a very important and difficult operation," said hand surgeon Mario Ignor Rossello. "Robert Kubica's right forearm was cut in two places, with significant lesions to the bones and the tendons. We did our best to rebuild the functions of the forearm. "At the end of the operation, Robert's hand was well vascularised and warm, which is encouraging," he added.
When asked by reporters about what the future holds for Kubica, he answered: "We will see in the next days what will happen. "The danger is that in five or seven days we have vascular problems. He could have surgery again to resolve the problems." It has been suggested that Kubica will take at least a year to recover, but Rossello insisted: "Drivers are always very special patients. I have a lot of motorbike patients and they heal in the fastest way possible, much faster than normal people."
This will, of course, come as a huge blow to the Renault team who had, just days earlier, topped the test times with Kubica at Valencia. As they have produced an innovative new car with its forward mounted exhaust exits they may need to look at hiring an experienced driver to steer the development in the right direction. The current team reserves, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean, are perhaps not considered experienced enough and neither would be looked upon at this point as a team leader in Formula One. Nick Heidfeld is probably the obvious choice but over at Force India, Adrian Sutil still has not been officially confirmed so he may be able to move. Mind you, he may have already have a signed contract that is about to be announced at Force India’s launch this week, Although if Sutil moved it would save Force India from figuring out what to do with Vitantonio Liuzzi who currently has a valid contract to race with the team this year but who has, so far, been replaced by Paul di Resta.
Sam Snape
07-02-2011