Photo: Renault

Kubica Tests Renault F1 Car

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor

Robert Kubica has completed his first Formula 1 test in six years. The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner had an incredibly bright F1 future curtailed in February 2011 after crashing his Skoda Fabia rally car in the Ronde di Andora. The accident left Kubica’s arms and hands severely injured and put an immediate end to his single seater career.

After intensive rehabilitation he was able to recover and went on to compete in various World Rally Championship and sports car races in the years that followed. Recently Kubica has tested more advanced machinery including an LMP2 prototype, a Formula E car and a GP3 single seater.

In light of this his former team Renault invited the Pole to test its 2012 Lotus E20, the chassis that Kimi Raikkonen won that season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with.

Kubica completed 115 laps around the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain today. He practiced starts, high fuel runs, and even qualifying simulations for the team.

Usually when a driver is invited for a one off test they do not complete a full testing program as Kubica did today. Apparently Renault is keen to have him test for them again soon, and it is rumored he actually lapped faster in the E20 than the team’s current reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin who is a highly rated talent with three GP2 wins on his CV. Could Renault be looking to bring Kubica back to Formula 1, perhaps to replace the under performing Jolyon Palmer? Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out the quick video of Robert on track via Renault Sport on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/RenaultSportF1/status/872117144632393728

Tags : , , , , , ,

About

Associate Editor of Motorsports Tribune and jack of all trades, Adam is our resident Formula 1 expert. He has covered F1, IndyCar, WEC, IMSA, NASCAR, PWC and more. His work has been featured on multiple outlets including AutoWeek and Motorsport.com. A MT Co-founder, Adam has been with us since the beginning when he and Joey created Tribute Racing back in 2012. When not at the track or writing about cars, Adam can be found enjoying the Oregon back roads in his GTI.