Robert Kubica

Biography Robert Kubica

At 34, Kubica was one of the oldies on the grid in his final year as a Formula 1 driver, although he has yet to make 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 spring 2011. Kubica's life was feared; there was also talk of possible amputations. It did not, thankfully, come to that. However, his chance to drive at Ferrari was taken away. Indeed, the Pole had signed a contract with the Scuderia for 2012.

The Pole, who was allowed to make his debut at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix as Jacques Villeneuve's replacement and drove to the podium of honour 12 times in 76 appearances, was represented on the Formula 1 grid again for one year in 2019. After BMW Sauber and Renault, Williams was the popular Pole's third F1 co-host. He had not dared to think he would return to Formula 1 after his crash, but he still managed to secure a seat at Williams.

Return at Williams

It was certainly not an unqualified success. The Williams FW42 could invariably be found at the back of the grid, being overtaken by everyone and everything. Moreover, Kubica's teammate, the young talent named George Russell, regularly wiped the floor with him. The only bright spot of the season was the World Championship point the Pole collected at the German Grand Prix. Kubica himself felt that he did not get the recognition he deserved during his return to Formula 1, while bringing in the only World Cup point for Williams.

Test and reserve driver at Alfa Romeo

After one year, he quit Williams and was replaced by Nicholas Latifi. For the 2020 season, he continued as a test and reserve driver for the Alfa Romeo team. There he was well placed thanks to the million-dollar 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-19. Kubica was allowed to compete at the Dutch Grand Prix and he also raced the Italian Grand Prix.

The 2023 season marks the end of Robert Kubica's Formula 1 career and he will no longer drive as a 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.