Fernando Alonso has hailed Robert Kubica as a "legend of motorsport" following the Pole's overall victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Kubica steered the #83 customer Ferrari 499 to overall victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe to become the second F1 race-winner of the 21st century to win both a grand prix and Le Mans, after Alonso himself.
The victory marks a remarkable ascent for Kubica, who suffered life-changing injuries in a 2011 rally accident which almost killed him.
Kubica did manage to return to F1 in 2019 with Williams, but he was not the same force as he was during his peak when he won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
After a strong 2010 season, Kubica had signed a pre-contract agreement to join Ferrari for 2012 to partner Alonso, but this was abandoned following the rally accident.
Reacting to Kubcia's win, Alonso was full of praise for
"I'm very happy for him, we've talked a few times about how special the race is and he deserves it," Alonso told media, including RacingNews365.
"He's a legend of our sport, and now he is even more after winning Le Mans and with the pain he went through with the accident, I think it is a very happy day for motorsport.
"He probably should have won it a couple of years ago when he had the failure in LMP2, so I am happy for him.
"I will call him, I didn't want to disturb today, I will be celebrating, and I'm extremely happy, I am proud of him."
Check out the full list of drivers to have won both an F1 grand prix and the Le Mans 24 Hours - with three-time winner Phil Hill the only driver to win the 24 Hours and the F1 world championship in the same year, in 1961.
Drivers to win an F1 race and Le Mans
| Driver | F1 wins | Le Mans wins |
|---|---|---|
| Jose Frolian Gonzalez | 2 | 1954 |
| Maurice Trintignant | 2 | 1954 |
| Mike Hawthorn | 3 | 1955 |
| Phil Hill | 3 | 1958, 1961, 1962 |
| Lorenzo Bandini | 1 | 1963 |
| Jochen Rindt | 6 | 1965 |
| Bruce McLaren | 4 | 1966 |
| Dan Gurney | 4 | 1967 |
| Pedro Rodriguez | 2 | 1968 |
| Jacky Ickx | 8 | 1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982 |
| Graham Hill | 14 | 1972 |
| Didier Pironi | 3 | 1978 |
| Johnny Herbert | 3 | 1991 |
| Fernando Alonso | 32 | 2018, 2019 |
| Robert Kubica | 1 | 2025 |
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