Formula One 2011

[Starvinho]

Shit. Just seen this on BBC, hope he is ok. Multiple trauma does not sound good though, but like you said the main thing at the moment is he makes a speedy and full recovery. I met Kubica last year too, he is a really nice guy, really down to earth. Get well soon buddy

[Katsuya]

He's fractured his left arm and left leg. So long as they're not too severe, you could take a stab that he'd be back by the European season at worst (gives him four months to recover).

Renault's third drivers include Bruno Senna, Fairuz Fauzy and Romain Grosjean. If they were smart they'd ignore them and bring in Fisi/Heidfeld/Hulk, I'd say.

[Gazz]

Kubica for World Champion!

I cursed him.

[Sam]

I don't understand why these drivers go off doing things like this, I mean we had Montoya once then Mark Webber last year and now Kubica, thankfully he's not severly injured but nonetheless why is he rallying with the season getting so close? The teams shouldn't be risking or allowing their drivers to this, I mean they are locked into multi million pound deals, there is plenty of time for rallying and whatnot once their F1 careers are over. Seems such an unnecessary accident.

[Rich]

Its good for keeping him sharp and race fit.

Maybe this means we are all set for the return of Bruno Senna

[Katsuya]

Well according to wiki, Bruno's the first point of call if one of Kubica/Petrov were to be injured. So...yeah, that sucks. It's bad news for Petrov too because he has to step it up now; before he could call being far behind Kubica the fact that Robert's arguably the best driver on the grid. Now, he has to beat Senna and probably do it convincingly or there'll be question marks about his spot.

[Gazz]

I could live with Vitaly Petrov: WDC or Bruno Senna: WDC.

That £5 I put on Kubi though, I might as well of set it on fire... :/

[Katsuya]

I could totally live with Petrov winning a race. In fact, I could actually see him winning in Melbourne, given that it tends to be the race where things get thrown up in the air and Kubica, at least, was able to run well there last year (although saying that, he's done well there so it might just be him rather than the Renault...)

[Adam]

I don't understand why these drivers go off doing things like this, I mean we had Montoya once then Mark Webber last year and now Kubica, thankfully he's not severly injured but nonetheless why is he rallying with the season getting so close? The teams shouldn't be risking or allowing their drivers to this, I mean they are locked into multi million pound deals, there is plenty of time for rallying and whatnot once their F1 careers are over. Seems such an unnecessary accident.

Yeah I agree, I'm not sure why he's off rallying as we get moving into pre-season testing. I don't think Webber's is quite the same though, he broke his leg doing a charity bike race in the off season didn't he?

[Rich]

I don't understand why these drivers go off doing things like this, I mean we had Montoya once then Mark Webber last year and now Kubica, thankfully he's not severly injured but nonetheless why is he rallying with the season getting so close? The teams shouldn't be risking or allowing their drivers to this, I mean they are locked into multi million pound deals, there is plenty of time for rallying and whatnot once their F1 careers are over. Seems such an unnecessary accident.

Yeah I agree, I'm not sure why he's off rallying as we get moving into pre-season testing. I don't think Webber's is quite the same though, he broke his leg doing a charity bike race in the off season didn't he?

Read:

Its good for keeping him sharp and race fit.

Plus the big teams do driving events in the off-season, hell Ducatti and Ferrari do racing events with all their drivers every year, just don't get in a big huff about it, they could just as easily get injured in a road crash than in another event, its unfortunate and I wish Kubica a speedy recovery, but these guys are the best in the world and these are isolated incidents, Webber's was a biking accident and Montoya's depending on what you believe was a motorcycling (read:road accident) or a tennis injury (). So its hardly worth banning these great talented people from doing anything because of one or two incidents every 5 years when in that time period you have about 100 people racing formula one cars. Looking back in history you see drivers getting injured or even killed in non-championship races or just in their own time. We lost Jim Clark to an F2 race, Graham Hill to a plane accident, De Angelis in testing, its hardly a new development, they could hurt themselves falling down a flight of stairs, just like you or I.

[LUKIE]

You probably find it was a part of his contract. Most racers generally have sponsorship contracts with manufacture groups that require them to do specific events.

My cousin has a sponsorship contract with BMW, and if you buy an M3 in Australia, he is flown over to the state you live in, and he takes you out on a track to show you how to drive it.

[Katsuya]

Eeeeep. His manager's just said this: "Surgeons are trying to re-establish the functionality of his right hand." That does not sound good

[Rich]

Eeeeep. His manager's just said this: "Surgeons are trying to re-establish the functionality of his right hand." That does not sound good

I wouldn't read to much in to it yet, if you break your hand its pretty hard for it function properly even if it is minor, when we get official post surgery statements I hope we will find out more.

also:

He did a pretty good job on the car

[Katsuya]

True...but according to what the BBC have put up, he lost "a lot of blood" in his right hand but it's not going to be amputated or anything like that. Even if it's not that serious, it still doesn't sound like it's just a normal break to me.

Also, someone pointed out that the marketing will go mad at the thought of a Senna in a black and gold Lotus car.

[Rich]

True...but according to what the BBC have put up, he lost "a lot of blood" in his right hand but it's not going to be amputated or anything like that. Even if it's not that serious, it still doesn't sound like it's just a normal break to me.

Also, someone pointed out that the marketing will go mad at the thought of a Senna in a black and gold Lotus car.

I actually have a picture on my wall of Ayrton in a JPS Lotus, it would actually make me bust a nut

[Adam]

"Robert Kubica undergoes seven hours of surgery; may need year to regain full use of right hand."

That's from the BBC Sport news ticker.

Absolutely awful news, Kubica is one of the best drivers on the grid and this could have wrecked his career. Was really looking forward to seeing if he and Renault could move up and start competing for race wins again.

[Rich]

That is actually shit.

Raikonnen to return? Does anyone think he would sack off the rally contract to rejoin F1?

[Katsuya]

Oh fuck off >_<...surely they won't go with Petrov and Senna for an entire year? I'm willing to hedge my bets and say Fisi returns, he has the history with Renault at least. That, or Quick Nick (which is who I'd prefer) or they nab Hulk.

ETA: Partially severed right hand. They need to observe it for a week to see whether it'll survive.

Edited February 6, 2011 by Katsuya

[Starvinho]

Robert Kubica's Formula 1 career is under threat after his right hand was partially severed in a high-speed rally crash in Italy on Sunday.

He also suffered arm and leg fractures after his car hit a church wall.

Kubica who drives for the British-based Renault F1 team, had seven hours of surgery after he was airlifted to a hospital near Genoa.

The 26-year-old Pole looks at least likely to miss the entire 2011 season, which starts in Bahrain on 13 March.

Initial reports suggested he was in danger of losing his hand, although those fears were later played down.

However, Professor Mario Igor Rossello, a specialist surgeon involved in the lengthy operation, said that it was too early to accurately assess the long-term implications of his injuries.

Rossello told reporters he was "moderately satisfied" with the operation to rebuild the hand, but said that it would be several days before doctors could determine whether the hand would be "able to return to full function".

He added: "The danger is, in five-seven days you can have vascular problems, and we could do surgery again to solve these problems."

When asked what the best prognosis for recovery would be, Rossello replied: "One year. One year is the best provision."

The doctor said he expected the driver to recover "enough functionality for him to resume his activity."

He was operated on after reportedly being trapped in his car for more than an hour while specialist cutting equipment arrived in Peitra Ligure.

It sounds like he is very lucky to still have the hand, being trapped for so long and I guess blood loss, etc don't make it a good scenario. I think it will be a while before we know anything, but my gut feeling at the moment with an injury like that, is he won't drive again in F1. I hope I'm wrong though, would love to see him make a speedy recovery and be back asap, but when a surgeon says he is only moderately satisfied with an operation and he is unsure whether the hand will even return to full function, it makes it hard believe that his hand will be in any shape to handle an F1 car again. But like I said, hope my gut feeling is wrong and we see him back next season hopefully.

[Rich]

Alex Zanardi drives with no legs, Alessandro Nanini drove after severing his arm and having it re-attached... hopefully Kubica will be one of these kind of drivers. All I am doing is wishing Kubica all the best in his recovery.