Pole aiming for 'proper comeback' six years after career-changing crash in rallying; Kubica completed more than 100 laps in private test for Renault at start of June
Sunday 11 June 2017 13:45, UK
Robert Kubica has confirmed to Sky Sports he would like to attempt a full F1 comeback after a successful test return.
Six years after suffering a partially severed right arm in a horrific rallying accident in Italy, Kubica returned to F1 action at the start of June when he drove a 2012 Renault car at Valencia for a behind-closed-doors test with his old team.
The Pole completed 115 laps, more than a grand prix distance, and has told Sky Sports he would like to step up his return with a view to a full comeback.
Speaking in an exclusive Sky interview via Skype, Kubica said: "For sure it's kind of a new start for me. I don't know what it will bring, but definitely it's a nice feeling to know I can drive an F1 car after such a difficult period and having my limitations.
"To know I can drive the car and I can drive the car on good pace and I can drive the car for an entire grand prix distance is something which makes me happy and proud.
"Once I have done this test I would like to test more. It doesn't depend only on my side, but I will keep working and hopefully one day I will have a chance to go forward and step-by-step maybe have [a] proper comeback."
A future race return for the popular Pole would represent one of F1's most astonishing and heart-warming stories.
Still only 32, the same age as Lewis Hamilton, Kubica had been regarded as a future world champion during his five seasons in the sport when he won the 2008 Canadian GP and finished on the podium 12 times.
But after setting the pace in the opening pre-season test of 2011 for the then Lotus-Renault team, Kubica's one-off participation in an Italian rally left him with severe injuries to his hand and arm after crashing the Skoda he was driving.
In 2013, he returned to competition in the World Rally Championship, initially winning the support category, and moved into sportscar racing last year. The restricted movement of his injured arm had prevented him from driving a single-seater again, but Kubica tested both GP3 and Formula E machinery in the weeks before his shock F1 return.
Renault described the Valencia test as a "one-off" but the success of Kubica's first outing, and his pre-accident pedigree and promise, could mean they or other teams run him again in more modern F1 machinery.
"I had very good feelings straight away in the car and I had very good feeling from a fitness point of view," added Kubica.
"Lately I have spent an awful lot of time and an awful lot of effort trying to prepare the best I can in case I will have the opportunity to drive an F1 car and I had a great day."
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