Robert Kubica
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Robert Kubica (born December 7, 1984 in Kraków, Poland) is a formula one race car driver for the BMW Sauber formula one team. Like most Formula One race drivers, Kubica started racing with karts and successfully did so. He won six karting championships on his homeland before moving to Italy which is considered as the heart of world karting.
Kubica entered F1 not considered as a rookie because of his rich experience in racing. His character and determination was in full display when he continued to compete in the Formula 3 Euro Series and won his first race inspite of a broken right arm he suffered in a car crash. Kubica also became part of Formula One history when he became the first ever Polish driver.
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Personal Life
Robert Kubica (pronounced ['robert ku'bitza]) is the son of Arthur and Anna Kubica and is a native of Kraków, Poland. As early as 4 years old, Robert was already into vehicles when he first drove his small 4-horsepower off-road buggy. The following year, his father traded his ride for a small rear-wheel-drive model Porsche then later replacing it with a kart.
Robert's sporting hero is British snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan. Aside from snooker, Kubica also plays poker, bowling, computer games, and indoor karting. When he was still in karting, he used to look up to Giancarlo Fisichella and admired his transition to Formula One. He considers the day after his accident at the Norisring Formula 3 race, where he won the Euro Series, as one of his best racing moments.
Career
Karting
After spending most of his early childhood years driving his small off-road vehicle around a circuit made out of plastic bottles, it didn't take long until Kubica found his way into karting. Because he was still underaged to compete, he and his father would just spend their time racing to the nearest kart track about once or twice a week. He eventually got the clearance to compete in the Polish Kart Championship when he was ten, then went on to win six championships in two different categories over the next three years.
Searching for a more competitive field to race against, Kubica along with his father moved from Poland to Italy to participate in the Italian Kart Championship. Kubica competed with their own money, and although they were quite successful early on, the father and son tandem encountered financial problems. Fortunately for them the son was able to secure a contract with kart manufacturer CRG. By the age of 13, Kubica started living in Italy under his employer's roof while learning to speak Italian as well. He won the 1998 International Italian Karting Championship to become the first foreigner to capture the crown. He also bagged second place in the European Championship before claiming the prestigious Monaco Kart Cup. He successfully defended both of his titles the following year, even adding several more titles that include the German title, the Elf Masters and the Margutti Trophy. After a glorious 1999 season, Kubica spent one last year in karting, going out with 4th place finishes in both the European and World Championships.
Junior Formulae
With the help of his manager Daniele Morelli, Kubica was able to jumpstart his professional career as a test driver for a Formula Renault 2000 car, while negotiating deals with sponsors to cover a season in Italian Formula Renault. He also claimed his first pole position that year and became a part of the Renault driver development programme (RDD). In 2002, Kubica won four races, placed second in the Italian Formula Renault 2000, finished seventh in the Formula Renault Eurocup, and by the end of the year, dominated the Brazilian Formula Renault 2000 held at the Interlagos circuit.
By 2003, Kubica was able to test a Formula 3 car in winter. Unfortunately, prior to what was supposed to be the first race of the season, Kubica got involved in a car accident where he suffered complicated fractures in his right arm. Doctors said it would take about six months for him to recover but as early as five weeks later, Kubica was once again back on track to compete in the Formula 3 Euro Series race at the Norisring in Germany. Despite having his right hand protected by a plastic cuff and his arm held together by 18 titanium screws, Kubica successfully won his inaugural Formula 3 race before ending the season with a 12th place finish. He also placed first in the Formula 3 Masters held in Sardinia and secured 5th place finishes in races in Macau and Korea at that same year.
In 2004, Kubica concluded his sophomore season at the Formula 3 Euro Series in 7th place with the factory Mercedes team. He also competed in the tradition-steeped race in Macau where he claimed pole position and set the fastest race lap but only managed a runner-up finish. During winter testing, he was able to impress the head honchos of the Epsilon Euskadi team and was later on signed to compete at the World Series by Renault in 2005.
Kubica pulled off an impressive run at the World Series by Renault, winning four races and was already declared as the champion three races before the season ended. He received a test for the Renault Formula One car by the end of 2005 as a reward for his triumph on his latest race. Three weeks after posting impressive lap times during his test at Jerez, Kubica was signed by BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen to be the BMW Sauber F1 Team’s test and reserve driver even without prior tests on their own F1 vehicle. Kubica however was able to show he deserved the contract from BMW by turning in good lap times at the actual testings.
BMW Sauber (2006)
Still serving as BMW's test and reserve driver, Kubica was on the brink of becoming the first Pole to compete in Formula One racing, which he later on accomplished after Jacques Villeneuve, who seated alongside Nick Heidfeld on the team roster, parted ways with BMW following the 2006 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. Kubica made his debut in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, qualifying to start 9th on the race and even finished at 7th place, only to be disqualified for racing an underweight car. He took Villuneve's job full-time starting with the Turkish Grand Prix, finishing at a disappointing distant 12th place after an error in tyre choice.
He was able to redeem himself not long after in a historic moment at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix where he finished third in the race and in the process etched his name as the first Polish driver to appear on a Formula One podium and the first Polish driver to lead a Grand Prix. He also became part of a select few who finished on the podium within their first three F1 starts, accompanying the likes of Ralf Schumacher (Argentina 1997), Alexander Wurz (Great Britain 1997), and Lewis Hamilton (Australia 2007) in the elite club. The following race at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, Kubica placed as high as 5th place and was making headway for another podium finish only to be relegated to the 13th spot by the end of the race after prematurely changing dry tyres before the circuit was dry enough. He ended the next two races, in Japan and Brazil, with an identical 9th place finish enroute to ending his six-race season debut with 6 points and a 16th place standing in the Drivers' Championship.
BMW Sauber (2007)
Inspite of getting retired in his first Australian Grand Prix and finishing at a dismal 18th place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, Kubica had a fairly strong showing in the early stages of the 2007 season with a 6th place finish at Bahrain, 4th place in Spain, and 5th place in Monaco. The "streak" however was temporarily halted after Kubica got involved in a massive crash at the 27th lap of the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. The accident occurred after Kubica's vehicle clipped the back of Jarno Trulli's Toyota car, went off the track, and hit a hump in the grass which lifted the car's nose in the air thus preventing him from steering or braking. His speed was measured at 300.13 km/h (186.49 mph) when his car hit the barrier at a 75 degree angle which subjected Kubica to an average deceleration of 28g. Later analysis showed that Kubica was subjected to a peak G-force of 75 G. Kubica was immediately removed from the car after it striked the outside of the hairpin and came to rest on its side. Aside from a sprained ankle and a mild concussion, Kubica did not suffer any other injuries which contradicted initial media reports that he had suffered a broken leg. Kubica, who was only kept overnight on the hospital, sat out the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis with reserve driver Sebastian Vettel taking his place.
The hiatus did not take long however as Kubica was back in time for the 2007 French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, qualifying and ending the race with a respectable 4th place finish. His comeback effort was recognized by ITV's Martin Brundle, who named Kubica as the "driver of the day." From thereon out, Kubica finished only as high as 4th (Great Britain Grand Prix) but still managed to score points in all but two of the remaining races (9th in Belgium, retired in China). He ended his first complete season with a 5th place finish in Brazil, then went on to score 39 points and a 6th place finish, just behind teammate Heidfeld in the Drivers' Championship.
BMW Sauber (2008)
Kubica, along with teammate Heidfeld, will continue to banner the BMW Sauber for 2008 as confirmed by the team on September of 2007. Both have signed their respective multi-year deals with the F1 team.
Results and Records
Career Summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup | RC Motorsport | 10 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 14th |
| Formula Renault 2000 Italy | RC Motorsport | 5 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 13th | |
| 2002 | Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup | RC Motorsport | 8 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 7th |
| Formula Renault 2000 Italy | RC Motorsport | 10 | 3 | 4 | 188 | 2nd | |
| Formula Renault 2000 Brazil | RS2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ? | ? | |
| 2003 | Formula Three Euroseries | Prema Powerteam | 13 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 12th |
| British Formula Three | Prema Powerteam | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Macau Grand Prix | ? | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | |
| Masters of Formula Three | ? | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 33rd | |
| F3 Korean Superprix | Target Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th | |
| 2004 | Formula Three Euroseries | Mücke Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 7th |
| Macau Grand Prix | Manor Motorsport | 1 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 2nd | |
| 2005 | World Series by Renault | Epsilon Euskadi | 17 | 3 | 4 | 154 | 1st |
| Macau Grand Prix | Carlin Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2nd | |
| 2006 | Formula One | BMW Sauber | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16th |
| 2007 | Formula One | BMW Sauber | 16 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 6th |
| 2008 | Formula One | BMW Sauber |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BMW Sauber F1 | BMW Sauber F1.06 | BMW P86 2.4 V8 | BHR TD | MAL TD | AUS TD | SMR TD | EUR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | GBR TD | CAN TD | USA TD | FRA TD | GER TD | HUN DSQ | TUR 12 | ITA 3 | CHN 13 | JPN 9 | BRA 9 | 16th | 6 | |
| 2007 | BMW Sauber F1 | BMW Sauber F1.07 | BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 | AUS Ret | MAL 18 | BHR 6 | ESP 4 | MON 5 | CAN Ret | USA Inj | FRA 4 | GBR 4 | EUR 7 | HUN 5 | TUR 8 | ITA 5 | BEL 9 | JPN 7 | CHN Ret | BRA 5 | 6th | 39 | ||
| 2008 | BMW Sauber F1 | BMW Sauber F1.08 | BMW P86/8 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA |
References
- Robert Kubica F1-Live.com Profile
- Robert Kubica F1Complete.com Profile
- Robert Kubica Wikipedia
- Robert Kubica: A Pole Aiming for Pole Position
