Kubica: “I have no chance of returning to Formula 1 in the near future”

Robert Kubica, seriously injured in a rally in Italy at the beginning of 2011, believes that his chances of returning to Formula 1 in the near future are very slim, if not nonexistent.

Even though he has undergone numerous surgeries to regain mobility in his right arm, severely affected during his accident, his current physical condition would not allow him to fully return to his abilities behind the wheel of a single-seater. He shared in an interview with *Autoweek*: « If one day I can move my arm freely, then there’s a chance I might return. But in the meantime, we’ll see. I have no chance of returning to Formula 1 anytime soon. If it were just a matter of fitness, it could be resolved with training. But the main issue is the mobility of my elbow and wrist. I still have difficulty moving my right arm; I’ve had several operations aimed at improving all this, but there haven’t been any spectacular improvements. »

If the doors to Formula 1 seem closed to him for the moment, the Polish driver could turn to another discipline, and not necessarily rallying as one might naturally think following his recent exploits in Italy or in the Var: « I will make a decision soon. My name still means something, so it would be relatively easy to find a place in a Touring or Endurance championship. I think if I follow this path, I could achieve good results. After all, I have twenty years of experience on the circuit. »

But if Kubica decides to take the plunge and commit to road competition in rallying, it will have to be a long-term commitment: « If I choose rallying, it will be a different story. In terms of experience, I am practically nobody and I would need two or three years to learn how to fight at the highest level. »

Over the past month, Kubica won the Rally of Como in a Citroën C4 WRC and was in a dominant position in the Rally du Var before he went off track, without serious consequences.