Robert Kubica - Could he replace Palmer in 2017?

[caneparo]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Nannini had a particular aid to his re-attached arm, just like he used a hook to hold the wheel (he had basically zero sensibility in his right hand)

[Antonov]

Kubica undergoes surgery to damaged elbow
By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, June 6th 2012, 09:21 GMT

Robert Kubica has undergone surgery in order to improve the mobility of his arm following his accident last year.

The Pole, who continues recovering from the horrific crash he was involved in during a rally at the start of last year, had surgery at the Pederzoli hospital at the end of last month, when parts of his elbow were replaced with two prosthesis.

According to the doctor in charge of the operation, that will allow Kubica to fully handle the steering wheel of a car.

The doctor also said that the Polish driver had been carrying out tests in a simulator prior to the operation.

"This way the driver will be able to fully handle the steering wheel, while before he was unable to rotate the palm down, so he was forced to release the steering wheel in order to turn left," head surgeon Ruggero Testoni was quoted as saying by Italian media.

"The surgery was preceded by a series of tests in a car simulator. It will take at least one month in order to stabilize."

[DoubleFault]

April 25th:

We have seen him doing karting.
Something that takes a much bigger toll on your hands, arms then an F1 car with power steering.

Kubica is a future world champion no doubt about it.
All the other drivers have an immense respect for Kubica and his mentality to racing.
People who know, knows.

Many seem to think he´s just another F1 driver but i can assure you that isn´t the case.

Champion of what?

I´ve had flesh wounds where i´ve lost all feeling in part of my arm and the doctor wasn´t to optimistic i would get the feel back but surely after 4-5 months of actually feeling the nerves attaching i´m all back 100% now in my arm except for a small spot where the bloody dog penetrated a massive hole.

Urh, yeah a massive hole like the one that Kubica would have been given by the Armco.

If the game really was up, 100% finished, then we would have known about this a long time ago.
The fact that nothing of sorts comes up but instead we see pictures of him karting, rallying etc tells me he´s well on his way to being near perfect again.

No, keeping the mystery allows his name to be linked and the Kubica PR group to keep making money. It also keeps RK's mental state better.

The surgery was intended to enter the passenger compartment of a car: Now Robert already using it without problems on the kart or the rally car, since it has room to lift the elbow, while moving in a monocoque that it is granted.

The operation therefore has a clear purpose: to enter into the narrow cockpit of a Formula 1 team.

Hmm, I have my doubts.


BTW, all quotes but the last one are from somebody on F1Technical. Now, I expect that kind of denial and stupidity on Crash.net ... but not on F1 Tech where a lot of very intelligent people hang out.

[kals]

viewtopic.php?p=228617#p228617

[DoubleFault]

Thought I had put it there...

[Everso Biggyballies]

I thought that this is possibly the more appropriate thread for it anyway. Cant get much closer to topic. Just my opinion.

[Antonov]

Kubica 'completes secret rally test'

Robert Kubica has reportedly carried out a secret test in a Ford World Rally car in France.

The highly-regarded 27-year-old has been on the sidelines from racing since February 2011 after suffering serious injuries to his hand and arm in a horrific crash while competing in a minor rally in Italy during F1's pre-season period.

Kubica has since undergone a myriad of operations to try and improve the mobility and functionality of his arm and most recently underwent further surgery on his damaged elbow at the end of May.

The Pole is believed to have already tested in a race simulator and now further reports have surfaced that the former BMW and Renault driver has gotten behind the wheel of a WRC car on the track.

According to F1 journalist Joe Saward's blog, Kubica recently spent four days testing a Ford Fiesta rally car at the little-known Circuit des Ecuyers in northern France, working alongside the car manufacturer's factory drivers Petter Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala.

The 2008 Canadian GP winner is said to have paid his own expenses and was simply described by Ford as "a mystery driver, who did not wish to have any publicity about the relationship", with the test going well.

Huge uncertainty continues to surround Kubica's future in racing with the complexity and severity of the Polish driver's injuries having made a timetable for any possible comeback attempt difficult.

Fernando Alonso, a good friend of Kubica, told the latest edition of F1 Racing magazine: "It's very hard to say whether Robert will return to 100 per cent fitness and be able to race again in Formula 1.

"Now and again we speak and I know how much it hurts him to be so far away from what has always been his world. He has to keep calm and think first and foremost about recovering total functionality of his body, then he can think again about racing."

[DoubleFault]

Note the bit Alonso says: he doesn't have full body function.

[DoubleFault]

It seems Robert Kubica has enough hand and arm function to spray a bottle of champagne.

Congrats Robert, a nice positive story!

[Everso Biggyballies]

I see that Pirelli are suggesting Kubica could be the official F1 Tyre Tester next year..... physical abilities dependant.....

Dont get too excited, Pembrey (Mr Motorsport at Pirrelli) has admitted to not having spoken to Kubica about it but is a proposal in his mind.

I dare say that Kubica will have seen the report and already been on the phone to Pembrey to no doubt [cynical mode] convince him that the 300hp 4WD road/rally car Robert seemed to just drive off the road and crash out of the rally was nothing to do with his impaired control abilities, and that he will have no probs with the 750 plus bhp in the Pirelli (Ironically now a Renault 2010 R30) F1 test car, with all of the downforce and braking capabilities that exert the G forces that Robert will I suspect find difficulty in coping with for a fair while yet. [/cynical mode]

Anyway here is the Pirelli possibility.

Pole Kubica, regarded as one of F1's most talented contemporaries until his early-2011 rallying crash, recently returned to competitive action after a 19-month recuperation with a couple of minor Italian rally outings.

The 27-year-old fared well, but Kubica has said he is unlikely to attempt a full return to F1 until at least 2014, due to the reduced mobility of his right arm at present.

But Pirelli's Paul Hembery told Auto Motor und Sport he might be open to Kubica becoming the official F1 tyre tester in 2013.

"It's a possibility," said the Briton.

"I don't know if he's in a position to do the job at the moment, but he is definitely the kind of driver that we are looking for."

Hembery admitted he has not spoken to Kubica "for some time".

But "If he is physically capable, and spends a year with us, it would for sure bring him into a good position to maybe return (to racing) in 2014.

"It would be really great if we could do that," he added.

I do however agree that this route is probably the best way for Kubica to prove to any team thinking of putting him in their own F1 car. He would if it worked out get plenty of F1 mileage and his pace will easily be measured against other drivers who may well also drive the car.

Maybe he should just go out and buy a s/h lower formula / downforce car to go out and do private testing in... he can afford it and it would probably fall under his rehab / race insurance in anycase. It would be a more real test, and beneficial to the strengthening of the right parts of his body back towards F1 spec, and also allow him to develop the new ways he will need to find allowing him to brace himself in the car in a way that is less arduous on his still mobility impaired arm / elbow. Or maybe he has a simulator of some sort set up. I doubt it would simulate all the multi-directional and positive > negative changes in G-Force experienced by an F1 driver.

EDIT: JUst want to qualify anything I have said above with the overider that my own real beliefs as to Robert's F1 RACE future remain unchanged.... I cannot, in all reality, see it ever picking up from where he left off, indeed I dont see any serious chance of an F1 race return happening. I do confess that I now see more prospect than last year, of him returning to lower or alternative, more suitable and easy to adapt to categories in racing..... DTM,WTTC, Sportcars /GT1/WEC/LMS.

[caneparo]

According to Igor Rosello, the surgeon that reattached his limbs after the accident, Robert Kubica will not be able to regain 100% of his art mobility. The nerves are not reformed completely, and Kubica for example signs autographs with left hand because he's not able to hold the pen in his right hand.

http://www.auto.it/autosprint/formula_1 ... +non+buone

[Antonov]

[caneparo]

Is that a McLaren fan magazine?
BTW he'll test a DTM Mercedes next week in Valencia

[kals]

Kubica not yet fit enough to drive F1 car - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105234

[FASTFREDDIE]

No Mercedes DTM drive for Kubica in '13

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105636

[Everso Biggyballies]

To be honest, I dont think that will be of much surprise having seen the lack of strength and movement he has with his bad arm, at I think possibly his DTM test.. It was looking in some footage of him preparing, his arm appeared to more be an appendage rather than functional. It was IIRC almost a case of strapping his glove to the wheel. Im not sure of what duration he could race for. I guess the good part of rallying is the relative short duration of a rally stage compared to any circuit racing.

Without wanting to sound demeaning of his efforts to return to motor racing, I had thought that given a couple of promising rally outings he would have been or even appeared a little stronger, and whilst the recovery from and even survival of Robert was in doubt earlier, I had hoped that progress was greater than appears to have been the case. Early days still of course, and all our wishes for something miraculous to happen. .
I think his main challenge now would be to increase the functionality. Lets hope that he is able to achieve some sort of future in motor racing at a level that will still be of interest to him.