Robert Kubica was one of the best of his generation, a potential Formula 1 world champion, whose hopes of realising that expectation appeared scuppered when he suffered life-threatening injuries in a rally accident.
Even he thought a return was "nearly impossible". But he has kept that dream alive, and now, after testing F1 machinery this year, a return to the grid with Williams is within his grasp.
You will be hard pressed to find someone who does not want to see Kubica back on the grid. It's a story for the romantics. But Williams is not allowing itself to get whisked away.