Kubica suffers injury setback after fall

2012 F1 season

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Kubica's prospects of an F1 return in the near future have suffered a blow

Robert Kubica’s recovery from injuries sustained in a rally accident last year has suffered a setback.

Kubica injured his right leg after slipping on a patch of ice near his home in Italy.

After being taken to hospital in the vicinity Kubica request to return to the clinic in Pietra Ligure where he had treatment after his rally crash last year.

According to Autosport, Kubica reopened the fracture in his right tibia in the fall.

Robert Kubica rally crash

    Image © Renault/LAT

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    Keith Collantine
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    60 comments on “Kubica suffers injury setback after fall”

    1. sad news it seems that bad luck is always following him
      is he always under contract with Lotus?

      1. Not anymore, I think…

      2. His contract with Lotus ended 31 December.

    2. Real shame this, i really hope this isn’t what completely ends Kubica’s career

      1. Don’t think a broken leg is that big of a disaster and they are saying if he has just broken his leg the recovery will only be prolonged weeks not months.

        1. It says in the article he reopened the fracture he sustained in the original rally accident, so this has definitely set back his recovery for the worse, i think weeks would be very optimistic

          1. this news is expired. not a tibia and not reopened :)
            a little injury of the ankle, does not matter much for his recovery.

    3. As someone who’s suffered a re-opened fracture, even though Kubica is made of sterner stuff than I this is going to be a niggle for him every time he steps into a racing car. These drivers take batterings that we can’t imagine, especially the legs and I wouldn’t want to risk a weaker bone in that kind of scenario. I myself am protective of my left arm even though it was more than 10 years ago. I can only imagine that that 1% little doubt would play on his mind when on the ragged edge.

      That’s if he’d ever have come back at all, before or after this latest development.

      1. Being religious, he might take it as a hint, that its not the right thing for him to do, a return to racing.

        1. I desperately hope not, he is such a highly skilled driver on a par with Hamilton, Button etc. I was secretly hoping he’d join the new “Dream Team” Mercedes and give us a highly talented team of Rosberg and Kubica. Get well soon Robert and we really want you back in F1

          1. I was looking forward to seeing him at Ferrari with Alonso! I think his need for more time to recover was a massive (yet never mentioned) factor in allowing Massa to stay. Afterall, why would Ferrari want to keep a driver who failed to score a podium all season and who i think only attained fourth on one occassion.

            I reccon its because the team know him, he has a sufficient amount of skill to make the constructors realistic in the event the car is competative. Why would Massa himself want to leave such a great seat. Long run, keep him until Kubica is ready.

        2. I don’t think he’s religious, certainly not to take such hints. I’m pretty sure of that.

        3. If he’s religious, he probably thinks that it’s God’s way to say “never step over an ice patch again”.

      2. @icthyes I think he’s been in at least two big accidents before. These only made his resolve bigger, so I’m hoping for tha best

    4. Man, thats really really sad!!!!

      Hopefully is not thtat bad… best wishes to him!!!

    5. Gee, this feels like the end of his career. I must say I already was sceptical, but now I’m sure. Really sad news.

    6. Man, this is disappointing news. I wont give up on the hope of his return, but the chance does seem to be getting slimmer.

    7. I send my best wishes to Kubica, I hope his condition improves enough so that he can drive a Formula One again.

    8. OK, guys, reality check: If a slip and fall is enough to overcome all the fixing done in a number of operations and 10+ months of healing, does anyone believe that Robert was anywhere near well enough to even contemplate a return to his career in racing?

      … which explains why Lotus didn’t wait on him, and no one seems particularly eager to secure his services.

      Frankly, if Robert’s is over, it didn’t end with this fall, it ended 11 months ago.

      1. Frankly, if Robert’s career is over, it didn’t end with this fall, it ended 11 months ago.

      2. I would say Lotus would have waited on him if they were sure they wouldn’t be waiting on someone who ends up signing with say Ferrari or another top team when he was ready.

        Boulier made it clear he would give Kubica all the help he needed to comeback if he was committed to Lotus but nothing materialised with Boulier complaining his relationship with Kubica was at “zero”

        I 100% agree with if his career is over it ended 11 months ago.

      3. that’s not necessarily true. if you fell awkwardly even a healthy bone could break. it’s just very bad luck. i don’t see him driving this season unless someone flakes out (schumacher?), or is controversially pushed (Massa?)

        1. This certainly ensured he won’t be driving this season, but I don’t think he would have anyway.
          He has a further 12 months to recover before the beginning of next season and who knows, maybe by then he’ll be fit enough to test or race for a team

    9. So sad.

      The fact the original fracture was reopened isn’t good. This certainly puts his career in serious doubt.

      It wasn’t pretty after the rally accident, now it’s looking even worse. Such a shame!

    10. He is having a awful lot of bad luck. Having reopened the original fracture, certainly he will take one more month of recovery. I’m really looking forward to see him driving again. But if this bad luck keeps going, we won’t see him behind the wheel again.

    11. I keep thinking about how I read that Nigel Mansell once broke his neck in a couple places and was told he would never drive again and that he would be in the hospital for at least six months. So he told the nurse he had to go to the bathroom, packed up his stuff, and walked out — and he was racing again in something like five weeks.

      I know every patient and situation is different and that Kubica’s injuries were unusually dire, but someone as tough and motivated as he is could end up surprising everyone. I really hope this ends up being, if not exactly a minor setback, then at least a surmountable one.

    12. I’d say this is curtains now. It’s hard to see any team offering him a seat. I know Schumacher came back from two broken legs and Webber back from a leg break too, but it’s really hard to imagine any team taking a gamble on him – his fitness shall surely always be questionable?

      Kubica shall probably be confined to the F1 history books at the greatest F1 champion that never was and never will be.

      1. I don’t want to take anything away from the man. He was (may well be again) very talented, and probably one of the best on the grid. But I think there are several others drivers who could or should be deemed as the best drivers not to win championships- Moss, Villeneuve, maybe Bellof, von Trips. Perhaps Kubica could be classed alongside them, but perhaps not.

      2. terrible news, for sure. but there have been plenty of better drivers to never win an f1 title – stirling moss and dc are the first to come to mind. likely webber, too.

        honestly, i thought he was finished when the crash first happened. there’s a lot of new blood, so to speak, so few if any teams are going to give him a drive after missing time for any reason.

      3. He’s a good driver but far from the best to never win a championship. Not so quick Nick Heidfeld beat him 2 out of 3 years together.

    13. Truly terrible news. This whole Kubica saga has been incredibly sad. To see such a talented driver suffer so much, it’s very hard to bear. What bothers me the most about this fall is that it serves as an affirmation that he may never be back at 100%. Driving an F1 car is extremely physically demanding and I can’t imagine him returning for a very long time, if ever.

    14. Robert… Please respect our emotions……… :-(

    15. I hope he can still recover. Should we perhaps be thankful it was his arm/hand that was re-injured? I assumed that was always the bigger problem and that a set-back in that area would be more serious.

      1. *wasn’t his arm/hand

    16. He survived to a horror car-crash, a fall on the ice is certainly not going to kill him. But as he still has the injuries of the first crash, this is a second one which adds importance to them – sadly.

    17. Sources are telling me that it might only be his ankle that has broken, lets hope so

    18. What is his problem?
      Unfortunatly, we lose a possible champion, after 2 seasons out, it would be crazy if this guy come back someday and win one race.

    19. Kubica: A shame.. oh well kimis back.. id put kimi over kubica he was a tad overated. No harm to the lad.

      1. yeah, sure thing! see 2008, kimi in the best 2008 car did the same points.
        yeah, he is much better… lol

    20. According to the latest (as at 10PM today) information his injury was not as severe as media made it look. It turns out he has only a broken (?, at least injured) right ankle, when working in the garden in his Italian house. Kubica got it plastered and was sent home.
      As for his recuperation, I have also came across information from Prof. Igor Rossello (the one who operated his hand and arm back in February), who said he met Robert 2 weeks ago and he was amazed to see his hand in “very good condition”. He also added that Robert drove the car himself.

      1. Thanks for that update. Lets hope its closer to the truth than initial reports hinted at @mister-nillionaire!

    21. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. Kubica apparently fell out with Renault management over his comback – from what I heard, he was disregarding his doctors’ advice to try and make his comeback sooner. Maybe this will slow him down a bit, so that when he does return, he will be absolutely ready for it.

    22. Far from good news. Just plain old bad luck! Hopefully he can still make an impact on F1 in the future.

    23. It seems like Robert’s bad luck is sticking with him for the time being but I don’t think this latest accident will be the end of his racing career.

      Presuming Robert brakes with his left foot, this latest fracture isn’t a comparatively massive setback. I remember when Mark Webber broke his right leg before the start of the 2009 season, he said it would’ve been worse if he broke his left leg because of the braking forces that have to be put in and that the accelerator pedal doesn’t require as much effort.

      Prior to his rally crash, he’s had a couple of other serious accidents: Before the start of his rookie Euro F3 season a road accident left him with a broken arm and 18 titanium bolts. When he returned to racing, he won on his F3 debut. In 2007, he had that infamous crash in Canada which left him with a sprained ankle. One year later at the same circuit, he took his first and so far only win.

      I hope he makes a speedy recovery and returns to racing in style because he is one of my favourite and one of the more talented drivers.

    24. In terms of being able to carry on and make a nice living somehow, I’m not worried for him. He’s young and determined, and will surely do well in the future. As far as his driving career in F1 goes, though, I’m not very optimistic. Hope he proves me wrong.

    25. Does not sound good if his leg broke from a slip outside his house, What would happen if had a bad accident at 200MPH? I think this is the end of him. Best driver not to get a clear shot at the title in a championship quality car since the 80’s.

      Thought there was something strange going on since he wasnt returning for 2012 kinda left the idea he would never be fit enough again to the back of my mind with how great safety has been in F1 and motorsport.

    26. Don’t look like at the moment the luck is with him.Hope he makes a quick recovery.

    27. sadly we will not see him in 2012 either…

    28. wow thats too bad. i hope he get better soon mabey he should take up somthing safe. or wrap himself in bubble wrap…

    29. It’s too crucial…

    30. I don’t care about his return anymore.

      I just hope he is ok.

      1. I tell you though, if he does make a comeback, he’ll be the most popular guy in F1.

    31. Talking about ice… I will translate for you a comment made by the most prominent polish F1 journalist, Mikołaj Sokół:

      “Any news about prolongation of recovery is still unofficial and should be considered as not confirmed. And so is the ice in a town in which the temperature currently reaches 10º C”

    32. I am almost sure that it’s nothing serious. We go now from car accident to some accident in the garden. Journalists are journalists they go for story not for true. I hope that it won’t affect his recovery much.

    33. Already done, quick!

    34. This news requires an update :)
      He injuried his ankle a little bit. It is not broken (probably).
      I think the real story needs 2-3 days more.

    35. themagicofspeed (@)
      12th January 2012, 21:48

      Oh no. This is really looking like the end of his career, which is so sad as he had a VERY promising career in front of him, put into the right machinery he could acheive great things, but now i don’t know if thats going to be possible. This is, if im not mistaken, the first time a current F1 driver has been close to retirement because of an injury sustained outside of F1 for many years?

      I can see why teams take a close interest and concern over what drivers do away from the track; Kubica’s bodged attempt at rally driving and the resulting accident cost Renault/LRGP/Lotus big last year. Certianly, if i was a team principal, my number one or maybe even both of my race drivers would have a clause in their contract preventing them participating in any form of extreme sport likely to be dangerous – and Rallying is just one example – because of the detrimental impact on the team should that driver be unable to race. I know there are many who would not agree with that stance but there are teams and drivers in the F1 pitlane with just such a restriction, or so i have heard.

    36. i saw some fotos of robert with serious arm limitations and walking stick, was wonderiing why there was no press fotos of his recovery i think the injury is far worse than reported and his career sadly over…

    37. Poor Kubica just can’t get a break…

      1. 2007 in Canada
      2. Rally Crash
      3. Slipping on Ice

      He’s in a fragile state, mentally and physically, I’m sure.

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