What if Robert Kubica made his return to Formula One with Pirelli?
As Jaime Alguersuari may soon announce his return to competition, Pirelli would then have to find a replacement for him. Paul Hembery, director of Pirelli Motorsport, does not rule out the idea of hiring Robert Kubica.
Back in competition for a few weeks in amateur rallying, Robert Kubica has not hidden his desire to return to Formula One someday, even though he is aware of the path he still needs to take. However, it remains to be seen with whom the Pole might potentially make his return in the coming years. While the talent of the former Renault driver is undeniable, there is still uncertainty surrounding the after-effects of his accident at the Ronde di Andorra Rally in 2011.
In the columns of Autosport, Paul Hembery, the competition director at Pirelli, does not hide his interest in the native of Krakow while Jaime Alguersuari, the current development driver for Formula One’s sole tire manufacturer, is reportedly on the verge of announcing his return to the top discipline for 2013: « I suppose we are more likely to work with Robert in rallying, but we shall see. I haven’t spoken to him for a while, and we are working on a few projects in which he could be involved, so it could be a possibility. I don’t know if he’s capable of it at the moment, but he’s the kind of person who, if he could physically make his return, driving with us for a season would put him in a good position to come back in 2014. It would be wonderful if we could do that. […] After a Formula One seat, the driver position at Pirelli is the best seat in the world. »
The choice of Robert Kubica would be all the more relevant as he would reunite with Pirelli and the Renault R30 steering wheel, which he knows well from having driven it in 2010. Indeed, even though the Milan firm has never seemed truly satisfied with having to make do with a technically “outdated” development car, Paul Hembery resigns himself to the situation and does not think he can change the car for 2013: « It probably doesn’t matter. If next year we’re testing for 2014, then it’s a huge challenge and our car won’t be suitable for that. So we will probably just have to significantly modify the 2010 Renault. » The help of Robert Kubica wouldn’t be too much in this case.
