Robert Kubica

Biography Robert Kubica

At 34, Kubica was one of the older drivers on the grid in his final year as a Formula 1 driver, although he failed to reach his 100th Grand Prix start. The Pole was out of F1 rotation for over six years after he experienced a horrific crash in a rally car in 2011.

Kubica's life was endangered; there was also talk of possible amputations. It did not, thankfully, come to that. However, his chance to drive for Ferrari was taken away: The Pole had signed a contract with the Scuderia for 2012.

Having made his debut at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix as Jacques Villeneuve's replacement at BMW Sauber, Kubica would go onto secure 12 podiums in 76 appearances before returning to the grid for one year in 2019. After BMW Sauber and Renault, Williams was the popular Pole's third F1 team. He had not dared to think he would return to Formula 1 after his crash, but he still managed to secure a seat with the Grove-based outfit.

Robert Kubica's return at Williams

Kubica's return wasn't particularly a success, even though the story sufficed.

The Williams FW42 was the slowest car in the field and uncompetitive. Rookie teammate George Russell regularly out-performed him, yet it was Kubica who secured the team's sole point of the season at the German Grand Prix and he felt himself that he did not get the recognition he deserved during his F1 return.

Test and reserve driver at Alfa Romeo

He left Williams after one year and was replaced by Nicholas Latifi. For the 2020 season, he continued in the sport as a test and reserve driver for the Alfa Romeo team, helped by his corporate deal with Poland's ORLEN group.

During the 2021 season, we saw him on the track twice more as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, who tested positive for Covid. Kubica competed in the Dutch Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix.

The 2023 season marked the end of Robert Kubica's F1 career as he left his role as test and reserve driver at Alfa Romeo. Indeed, Alfa Romeo's main sponsor, Polish oil company ORLEN, made the switch to AlphaTauri. Stake is Alfa Romeo's new title sponsor.