The remarkable qualities that propelled Kubica’s F1 comeback

It is difficult to fully appreciate exactly what Robert Kubica has been through during the past decade, until you spend time talking to him. 
And even then, even with the most sympathetic ear, you cannot really know how he did it – how this man dragged himself from the depths of despair back onto the Formula 1 circuit.

The only person who really does know is Kubica himself – a fact that becomes stark as he reflects, with refreshing candour, on the remarkable journey he’s undertaken since the 2011 rally accident that stalled an enormously promising racing career, and almost ended his life.

We’ve ostensibly been brought together to talk about his current stint at Alfa Romeo as reserve driver, and his recent cameos as a race driver, standing in for Kimi Raikkonen at the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.

But the conversation takes an unexpected 
turn when GP Racing asks Kubica to compare the standard of driver he is now to the one 
before his accident. What follows is a fascinating 
insight into the power of one man’s gritty determination, will to succeed, and the untapped power of the human mind.

“Well, first of all, it is impossible really to compare,” he says. “The difficulty, especially in F1, for me was that when I came back after many, many years, F1 was completely different. From one side, I have been an experienced driver, but honestly, I was as a newcomer.

“But the primary difficulty was that it was a tough year for Williams [in 2019]. I miss a possibility of, let’s say, just driving and driving with something which is reliable, something which is competitive.

Kubica made his long-awaited F1 return with Williams in 2019, just as the team was at its competitive nadir

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“Formula 1 has changed so you cannot compare. Before my accident, I had extremely strong years, especially in 2008 and 2010. Probably my best year was 2010 with Renault,
 I really put a strong season, a consistent season.

“It’s impossible to compare and to be honest, I don’t really remember how I was. And this I’m saying is very positive, because with my limitations I had to accept how I am. I had to find a way of driving, find the way of achieving results, in a different way. Because in many, many occasions - I’m not saying only of driving a race car, but in daily life - I can do nearly everything, but in a different way.

“And this was fundamental to switch as a mental strength. Because in the beginning, after my accident, I was trying to do things exactly 
the same as I was doing before the accident – and I couldn’t achieve it. And I was getting upset,
 I was… you know, it was disappointing.

"I found myself many things learning from zero, you know, and my brain had to adapt, had to discover. I had to learn also my body" Robert Kubica

“I’m happy that I don’t remember how I was, because it means that I have done a good job on this topic and my brain accepted how I am now. Of course, from outside it looks completely different because I can put myself into the situation, or into [the shoes of] even spectators, fans, you know, it’s not normal to see someone with these limitations driving a race car. But this is how I am, this is my life. And unfortunately, 
I cannot change it. I have to accept it. And I have to go forward with it.”

Following his life-altering rally crash, Kubica endured three months of emergency treatment as doctors battled to repair his right arm and hand – and deal with the consequences of multiple fractures to both of his right limbs. Then followed a long, hard road to recovery, culminating in a return to F1 in 2019. The process has been anything but smooth, but Kubica appears now to be at peace with himself in a way he wasn’t when he first made his comeback.

The return to racing in F1 with Williams was sobering, but Kubica has since broadened his horizons. Driving Alfa Romeo’s 2020 car in pre-season testing opened his eyes to how modern F1 should feel – “Barcelona had three corners less than 
I was used to in 2019” – and he’s also since tried his hand at DTM, Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series, which he won this year with Team WRT alongside Louis Deletraz and Yifei Ye in 
an ORECA LMP2 car.

PLUS: Inside the Le Mans finish too barmy for Hollywood

But never mind what could and should have been in F1, the mere fact Kubica can race competently and competitively at such a high level again at all – as evidenced by his performances in Alfa Romeo’s Formula 1 car with minimal practice running at Zandvoort 
and Monza – represents a staggering feat of human perseverance.

Kubica was just one lap away from LMP2 victory at Le Mans when his car suffered a terminal electrical glitch

Photo by: Eric Le Galliot

“In every sport, and not only sport but in daily living, we underestimate how powerful a tool is our brain,” Kubica continues. “Often, also, we think there are some limits, but actually it is ourselves who are putting, unconsciously, this limit because of our brain.

“Sometimes it takes more energy out, sometimes it takes more time, sometimes it takes actually learning from zero. After my accident, some things I had to learn from as [though I was] a kid. The difference is that when you are kid and you are growing up, and you are putting your first steps, or first time cycling, you don’t remember it because things are so active.

“I found myself many things learning from zero, you know, and my brain had to adapt, had to discover. I had to learn also my body. I have been right-handed [before the accident].

“Suddenly, once the emergency period was gone and I started my daily life, after many operations, after being in the hospital, after being on the wheelchair, 
I start putting first steps as a kid, because actually it’s the case that for many, many months, I haven’t walked. And when you stand up after many months, you kind of forget how 
to walk, or it is not anymore natural.

“You understand then that we do everything naturally. And it’s the same for driving. I went very wide road to let you understand that driving is natural. For me, driving the car now, I don’t know how I do it. Because it’s natural. I’m sure if I asked you how you are cycling, or how you are walking, you don’t know – you walk, you don’t think about. It’s the same [for me] with driving.

“My biggest achievement, I think, was when 
I was doing first steps in [coming back to] F1. Everyone was pointing at my limitations. And it has been probably my biggest battle.

“I heard so many stories that I could not do this, I could not do that. It’s impossible. There were people saying, ‘he cannot do the first lap after the start’. It’s normal because it’s not a common thing and people don’t really understand, because they have never been in the situation.

Kubica won this year's European Le Mans Series alongside Louis Deletraz and Yi Yifei

Photo by: ELMS

“That’s why when I say I want to learn my body, or let’s say learn from zero, also to understand what is possible, what I can achieve. And all the process of coming back to F1 was much more… not complex, but I never did two steps, I did only one step [at a time] and a very small one – also to not create the expectation 
on myself, or the hope of for sure I will return.

“No. First I did [the] simulator, then Formula 3, step by step I put my body into these situations which were normal for me before the accident. The biggest results I got on my rehabilitation were actually when I started driving and I started doing it frequently, because probably [for] my body it was my environment, like being home, and you feel natural in your environment. It’s like a fish out of the water – I have been racing, driving, karting since I’m six, so driving, living motorsport is my kind of lifestyle, but it’s also where I feel mostly at home.

“I remember when I first tested an F1 car with Renault in Valencia, I knew before jumping in the car that I could do it physically, because I could prepare myself, but I had a big question mark of my mental capacity because I have been away from the sport very, very long. And then, after two, three laps in Valencia, it probably was one of my best days in my life – just from an emotional point of view just to realise that wow, I really can do it. It was kind of [a] relief.

"I always kept the focus, also I was very realistic [that] I will never force myself or try to be back in F1 car if I will not feel I can do it. And I’m not saying here from [a] performance point of view, but just from physical aspects with my limitations" Robert Kubica

“But then of course, one thing was to do 20, 30, 60 laps, I did more than this in Valencia. But then the higher you go, the more difficulties you get. But I always kept the focus, also I was very realistic [that] I will never force myself or try to be back in F1 car if I will not feel I can do it. And I’m not saying here from [a] performance point of view, but just from physical aspects with my limitations.

“And that’s why when I had these stories… actually, I knew before going to Monaco in 
2019 – I knew in 2017 after all the tests – 
I knew Monaco will be one of the easiest tracks for me. People will think opposite. And then 
you understand that… you are by yourself in 
this situation. Nobody really can judge, and 
you are the only one who can really judge 
‘Yes, I can do, no I cannot do’.”

He is realistic about what the future holds – “I am not a dreamer” – and accepts his days of racing full time in Formula 1 are most probably over. But whatever he does next, Robert Kubica 2.0 deserves credit for turning a story of near-tragedy into one of astounding resilience and inspiring transformation. This is a driver who undoubtedly deserves the utmost respect.

Kubica fared well on his surprise F1 return with Alfa Romeo at Zandvoort with minimal preparation

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images