Jump to content

Robert Kubica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Motofan (talk | contribs) at 17:42, 10 June 2008 (→‎2007). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:F1 driver

Robert Kubica (IPA: ['robɛrt ku'bit͡sa], listenⓘ; born: December 7, 1984 in Kraków, Poland) is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. From 2006 he has driven for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006. In June 2008 he won the Canadian Grand Prix, his only Formula One victory to date.

Career

Pre-Formula One

Karting

Kubica developed his love for all kinds of cars at the young age of four when he spotted a small off-road vehicle, powered by a 4 bhp petrol engine. After long talks with his parents, his father bought him the car and young Kubica spent long hours driving around plastic bottles. When he got older it became apparent that he needed better equipment, so his father bought him a go-kart. However, Robert was too young to start racing in the Polish Karting Championship as he was under the age of ten. When he entered the championship, he won six titles in three years. After his third season, Kubica decided to switch to a more competitive league in Italy. In 1998 Kubica became the first foreigner to win the International Italian Karting Championship.

Kubica also scored second place in the European Karting Championship and won the Monaco Kart Cup held on part of the Formula One Grand Prix track. A year later, he defended his title in Italy and also competed in the International German Karting Championship. He also won the Monaco Kart Cup for the second time in a row, as well as the Margutti Trophy and Elf Masters races. In 2000, his last season in karting, Robert scored fourth places in both the European and World Championships.

Junior Formulae

Kubica with the Epsilon Euskadi team.

Kubica started his professional career in 2000, as a test driver for a Formula Renault 2000 car. During his first professional season in Formula Renault, Kubica scored his maiden pole position and also became a member of Renault's driver development programme. In 2002 Kubica won four races and scored a second place in the Italian Formula Renault 2000. He was also seventh in the Formula Renault Eurocup. At the end of the year he took part in a Brazilian Formula Renault 2000 race held at the Interlagos circuit. This one-off appearance resulted in a dominant win.

After Formula Renault, Kubica moved to the Formula Three Euro Series. However, his move was delayed by a road accident which left him with a broken arm. At his delayed debut at Norisring, Kubica, driving with a plastic brace and 18 titanium bolts in his arm, won the race. He finished the season in 12th place. At the end of the year, Kubica won a street race in Sardinia and came fifth in races held in Macau and Korea. He ended his second season in the Formula 3 Euro Series, spent with the factory Mercedes team, in 7th position. In November 2004, he scored pole position in the Macau F3 Grand Prix, where he broke the lap record, but finished second in the race.

In 2005 he won the World Series by Renault championship with the Epsilon Euskadi team, earning Formula One tests with Renault.

Formula One

2006

File:Kubica BMW1.jpg
Kubica driving the BMW Sauber F1.06 during Pre-Season testing in Barcelona.

In 2006 Kubica became the official third/test driver for the BMW Sauber Formula One team.[1] His results in both Friday testing and private test sessions, along with the words of BMW Sauber's manager Mario Theissen, led to speculation that he would become Poland's first Formula One racing driver in 2007. In August 2006, Kubica's teammate, Jacques Villeneuve, complained about headaches after his accident during the 2006 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim; he was deemed unfit to race by the team, against his own belief, and Kubica was chosen by the team management to replace him at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.[1] Kubica qualified ninth, beating his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld. In the race, he finished in seventh place, but was disqualified after the race for having an underweight car.[2] Villeneuve decided to leave the BMW Sauber team soon after the race,[3] and it looked certain that Kubica would stay on as Heidfeld's teammate until the end of the season and he might also drive for the team next year. This was confirmed after a BMW spokesperson told reporters that: "Robert Kubica will drive in the remaining races of the season. That is our current plan."[4]

Kubica as BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 United States Grand Prix.

Kubica had a more disappointing race in Turkey, finishing in 12th place after a mistake in tyre choice. Heidfeld, who was delayed in a first-corner accident, placed behind Kubica.

In his third race, the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Kubica finished in third position, and became the first Polish driver to appear on a Formula One podium, as well as the first Polish driver to lead a Grand Prix. He is one of four drivers in the last decade to finish on the podium within his first three Formula One starts, the others being Ralf Schumacher (Argentina 1997), Alexander Wurz (Great Britain 1997), and Lewis Hamilton (Australia 2007).

In Kubica's fourth race, the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, he finished 13th, again after a mistake in tyre choice. After going off track at the first turn of the race, he moved from 17th position to fifth, before pitting. He was the first to change to dry tyres from intermediates after the wet track started to dry. This decision was made too early: a very slow next lap in extremely slippery conditions and another pit stop to change back to intermediates cost him his place in the points.

2007

Kubica's violent win at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
Kubica driving for BMW Sauber at the 2007 British Grand Prix.

Kubica had a fairly good 2007, finishing consistently in point scoring positions. At the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix Kubica had a serious accident approaching the hairpin on lap 27 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Kubica went off the track after a collision with Jarno Trulli's Toyota [5] and hit a hump in the grass, lifting the car's nose into the air and leaving him unable to brake or steer. The speed measured when his car clipped the barrier was 300.13 km/h[citation needed] (186.49 mph), at a 75 degree angle, subjecting Kubica to an average deceleration of 28g.[6][dead link] After data from the onboard accident data recorder had been analysed it was found that he had been subjected to a peak G-force of 75 G.[7] The car then rolled as it came back across the track, striking the wall on the outside of the hairpin and coming to rest on its side. Under safety car conditions, Kubica was removed from the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre, where he was announced to be "stable", although no information regarding potential injuries was known at this time. Shortly afterwards, his manager Daniele Morelli said Kubica was conscious and talking.[8] It was initially reported that Kubica could have a broken leg.[9] However, Mario Theissen later confirmed that he was not seriously injured.[10][11]

Further reports from late evening on race day, directly from the hospital, confirmed that Kubica had suffered a light concussion alongside a sprained ankle. After being kept in overnight for observation, Kubica left hospital the following day.[12] On June 14 it was announced that Kubica would not race at Indianapolis and would be replaced by Sebastian Vettel.[13] After missing one race, he was allowed to participate at Magny-Cours where he qualified and finished in fourth place, receiving ITV broadcaster Martin Brundle's driver of the day award. He then went on to finish fourth again at the British Grand Prix.

2008

Kubica's retention as race driver for 2008 was confirmed on August 21 2007.[14] Kubica qualified second on the grid at the opening race of the 2008 season, the Australian Grand Prix, behind Lewis Hamilton. He retired from the race after a collision with Kazuki Nakajima.

Kubica won the first race of his F1 career at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

In the Malaysian Grand Prix, Kubica finished second.

On April 5 2008 at the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix, Kubica scored his first pole position of his Formula One career (also first pole for his team), narrowly beating Felipe Massa. He finished the race in third.

On May 25 2008 at the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, Kubica finished second, after starting 5th on the grid.

On June 8 2008 at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Kubica achieved his first ever victory after starting in 2nd, putting him in the Championship lead.[15] Kubica effectively won the race in the pit lane, first passing race leader Lewis Hamilton after the BMW pit crew completed a faster pitstop. Kubica and Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari halted at the pit lane exit, waiting for the red light pit exit light. However, Lewis Hamilton, running immediately behind them, missed the light and crashed into Räikkönen's Ferrari. Kubica rejoined the race well positioned for the eventual victory.

Nick Heidfeld in the other BMW Sauber, running a one stop fuel strategy, briefly positioned himself in front of Kubica after a pit stop, but running a much heavier car, lost the lead to his team-mate. Heidfeld then kept a charging Fernando Alonso at bay, and Kubica's victory was never challenged again for the remainder of the race. Kubica later thanked Hamilton for electing to crash into Räikkönen instead of him.[16]

Racing record

Kubica testing the BMW Sauber F1.08 in January 2008.

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 7 1 1 42 1st*

* Season in progress

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 WDC Points
2006 BMW Sauber F1 Team 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 Team 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 Team BMW Sauber F1.08 BMW P86/8 2.4 V8 AUS
Ret 		MAL
2 		BHR
3 		ESP
4 		TUR
4 		MON
2 		CAN
1 		FRA
 GBR
 GER
 HUN
 EUR
 BEL
 ITA
 SIN
 JPN
 CHN
 BRA
 1st* 42*

* Season in progress

Miscellaneous

Kubica said in an interview that his sporting hero is English snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan, which left the interviewer confused, wondering which driver he was. Kubica enjoys snooker and is a keen poker player.[17]

Footnotes

  1. ^ BMW snaps up Kubica ITV-F1.com. Reported on site Thursday, 22, December, 2005, 01:33
  2. ^ Kubica disqualified, Schumacher scores Formula1.com. Retrieved Unknown
  3. ^ Villeneuve parts company with BMW news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved Unknown
  4. ^ Kubica wird Saison zu Ende fahren F1Racing.net Template:De icon translated version. Retrieved 22 August 2006
  5. ^ "Reaction: Toyota, Red Bull and Honda". sportinglife.com. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Mark Hughes on Kubica". itv-f1.com. 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Kubica's crash data disclosed". autosport.com. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-06-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Canadian Grand Prix". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "UPDATE: Kubica has broken leg". crash.net. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Unhurt Kubica to leave hospital on Monday". homeofsport.com. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ ABC News: ABC News
  12. ^ "Kubica leaves hospital after crash in Montreal". iht.com. 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Vettel to replace Kubica at Indianapolis". autosport.com. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-06-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Heidfeld and Kubica stay at BMW". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-08-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7443153.stm
  16. ^ "Kubica celebrates first win as Hamilton rues pit-stop shunt". The Independent. 2008-06-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ 'Kubica takes his cue from snooker's O'Sullivan', Reuters UK, January 14, 2008

References

All Formula One race and championship results are taken from:

  • Official Formula 1 Website. Archive: Results for 2006 - Present seasons Formula1.com. Retrieved 22 August 2006
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Kubica.
Template:S-awards
Sporting positions
Preceded by World Series by Renault Champion
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lorenzo Bandini Trophy
2008 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Kubica&oldid=218440485"