Kubica “ready to fight for his comeback”, say Renault

2011 F1 season

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Robert Kubica, Renault, Valencia, 2011

Robert Kubica is continuing to recover from his injuries according to Renault.

The team issued a statement saying he will undergo further surgery on his shoulder, foot and elbow over the next week:

“Today, Robert’s general condition has once again improved. According to the doctors, the levels of inflammation are in the norm considering his medical condition, and the recovery of his forearm remains encouraging.

“Yesterday, Robert was able to talk to his doctors and relatives. His medication makes him sleep quite a lot, but he is responding to all external stimulation. He has reacted well to the news about his condition and is ready to fight for his comeback.

“On Thursday, Robert should undergo some more surgery in order to stabilise the fractures to his right shoulder and right foot. Three or four days later, another operation will allow his elbow fracture to be stabilised as well.

“Robert will remain at the Santa Corona Hospital for two to three weeks. A decision will then be taken about where he should go in order to continue his rehabilitation.”

Robert Kubica rally crash

    Image © Julien Leroy / firstlap.be

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    Keith Collantine
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    36 comments on “Kubica “ready to fight for his comeback”, say Renault”

    1. He’ll be fit and kickin’

    2. Good news. He obviously has a lot of surgery ahead to get him pieced back together.

      I was pretty shocked to see where that piece of armco ended up (right out of the back of the car). It is a harsh reminder that his outcome, however injured he is, could have been a whole lot worse. thank goodness for small mercies.

      1. Same thought that came to me. Watching the onboard video of the car following behind his crash was intense. The reaction from the Italian driver & co. driver Reminded me of the same sort of shaky adrenaline rush you get in a nightmare.

        I’m sure they thought the accident was worse when they saw the armco out the back of the car.

        1. Me too,it looked like a rusty old piece of tin,probably was.

    3. If Kubica is aiming for a return some time this season, you can rule out the likes of Raikkonen returning to the sport. There’s no way he’d agree to compete in half a season.

      1. Yeah but if Petrov under perform then he may be replaced by him. I don’t think Kubica will make a comeback this season though I hope he does as it will take a lot of time for his wounds to heal & main thing of all his fitness level needs to be charged up.

        All the best Kubica.

        1. They’re not going to replace Petrov with Raikkonen. If they replace Petrov, it will be with one of their own. Nor would they bank on Petrov doing poorly and replacing him with Kubica for the sake of having Raikkonen in car #9.

      2. Kubica nearly lost his hand, if he came back before 2012 it would be astonishing.

      3. I think you can rule Raikkonen out based on what Raikkonen has repeatedly said about returning to F1….

        1. But he also said 2010 was going to be just a sabbatical…

          1. So did Mika Hakkinen 10 years ago.

            1. So you’ll know then when Kovalainen announces a sabbatical, it means he’s done with F1… or maybe it only applies to world champions from Finland.

    4. The news about Rob gets better by the day, he’ll back, ain’t got no doubt in my mind about it.

      1. Me either. It’s just a question of when.

    5. My friend and I agreed to shave our heads completely should Kubica made a comeback and win in Monte Carlo. I’m fairly sure I’ll keep my hair, however, I do see him coming back soon. All reports sound great. Don’t count out a Norisring 2003 repeat! :)

    6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhRDKrNiWP0&feature=youtu.be

      Kubica’s accident if that’s how it have had happened.

      1. Looks like that might be pretty close to what happened. Horrible pictures.

        1. That matches the co-drivers description. Scary.

      2. Hmm – a bit unnecessarily macabre to be doing computer renditions of the crash I think, especially since it’s total conjecture for now. Though in a fit of contradiction I’ll admit that it’s interesting and at least possible that that’s how it happened. In any case, until he’s more recovered, any visualisation of the crash is just chilling. I still can’t believe that rail shot right through the car. Crazy.

      3. Really bad. Why isn’t there on board footage? Was the camera destroyed?

        1. The police must have requisitioned it, plus I’m not all sure I’d want to watch that, and I’m pretty sure his family don’t want it all over the web for us to pore over the gruesome details.

      4. Kubica is lucky to be alive.

    7. Great to hear good prospects. But I wouldn’t bet on Kubica returning this year (do not count it out completely, but …).

    8. Yes it’s encouraging. Let’s be hopeful but realistic, though. As well as the physical wounds there’s a lot for him to come to terms with mentally, and that’s an important process. I know he’s a strong character but… If it were me I think that even though it might not actually make me scared to get back in a car (of course, it might!), it would still take quite some time to stop dwelling on my own mortality. You surely have to put that stuff behind you to focus on racing. Whatever Felipe said, it’s tempting to think that he didn’t really manage that part of the recovery completely before coming back.

      To return to F1 this year would be great insofar as it would let him prepare for next year, but that’s quite enough to hope for at this stage.

      Wishing you well, Robert.

      1. I think he will do as fine mentally, as he did back in 2007 after Montreal.

        1. yeah I hope so. He’s a tough character, it seems. But he walked away from that one (jaw-dropping though that seemed having watched that horrendous crash). Time will tell, and I hope he takes the time he needs.

          1. Yes, his Montreal 2007 crash was the most memorable and horrific crash I’ve ever seen, my whole family just stopped and were glued to the screen. I know this crash is actually far more severe, but Kubica is an incredibly tough individual, he will overcome this and I wish him all the best.

          2. ForzaLaScuderia (@)
            8th February 2011, 15:14

            Not to mention that he won the next edition of the Canadian GP

        2. He also won the first F3 race after he recovered from his car accident in 2003.

        3. Montreal 2007 didn’t leave him with many months of very painful rehab to recover.

    9. I think he should write off any thoughts of racing this year and focus on recovery and rehabilitation. I wish him all the luck on his return to health, but from the injuries being reported it sounds as if his fitness is going to suffer massively while he recovers. But if he can race in 2012 then he and we should be thankful for small mercies. The fact is that this could have been so much worse as others have already pointed out.

    10. reconstruction of accident (computer animation) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsXkXjVjjL8

      1. If thats 100% accurate… then im simpley shocked their both still alive. Just … wow.

    11. http://www.auto.it/autosprint/rally/2011/02/08-7305/Foto+shock%3A+il+rail+che+ha+trapassato+la+Skoda+Super2000+di+Kubica

      This article mention that the guardrail could have been repaired; found 2 pcs overlapping with no bolts(pending final investigation)

      Guardrails poorly repaired are death traps, they are more dangerous than the rally itself.

    12. Best wishes to Kubica & heres hoping for a full recovery. I think that Robert should just ignore the ‘timeframes’ everyone is espousing and just concentrate on himself, his body will tell him if and when he is ready for a comeback.

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