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| Robert Kubica |
Robert Kubica
Born: 7 December 1984, Krakow, Poland
Grand Prix starts: 76
Grand Prix victories: 1
Points total: 273
When Jacques Villeneuve announced he was quitting BMW Sauber midway through the 2006 season, he seemed to have predicted the way the wind was blowing. The former world champion's contract was up at the end of the year, and it became clear that the team was looking to promote 21-year-old test driver Robert Kubica...
Kubica may have got the drive at the Hungarian GP only because Villeneuve hadn't fully recovered from a spill at Hockenheim, but it was obvious that the Pole represented the team's long-term future. Kubica finished seventh in Hungary, only to be disqualified when it was found his car was underweight. That took the edge off an impressive debut, though it was no surprise when he was installed as Jacques Villeneuve's long-term replacement.
Kubica showed a prodigious talent behind the wheel from a young age, lifting six domestic karting titles before decamping to Italy, where competition was stiffer. He took that country's championship in 1998, the first non-Italian to receive those particular laurels. He picked up more karting honours over the next two years before switching to Formula Renault 2000. He went on to compete in the European F3 championship, but his biggest success came in 2005, when he took the World Series by Renault title. That earned him a test for Renault's F1 team, but it was BMW Sauber who enlisted his services for 2006, his breakthrough year.
Kubica took third place at Monza in 2006, stepping onto the podium in only his third race. He was regularly in the points in 2007 and finished sixth in the championship, despite a spectacular spill in Montreal which put him out of that race and the next. In 2008 he kept pace with the title contenders from McLaren and Ferrari, and when he scored his maiden victory in Canada, Kubica led the championship. He remained in contention for the crown until the penultimate round and finished the year level on points with Raikkonen, who edged him for third place by dint of race wins. An uncompetitive car hampered Kubica's chances in 2009 and he joined Renault at the end of the year after BMW withdrew from the sport.
BMW Sauber's final year in F1 was a forgettable one for Kubica. He joined Renault for the 2010 campaign and clocked up three more podiums and 136 points, a decent return in a year dominated by Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. In February 2011 he suffered career-threatening injuries while competing in a rally in Italy. Nick Heidfeld, his former Sauber team-mate, and Bruno Senna shared the cover duties that season. Kubica suffered a setback early in 2012, delaying his return to a team that had morphed into Lotus F1 in his absence.