Paul Jeffrey
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Having not sat in a Grand Prix cockpit in over six years Kubica, 32, will be allowed some precious running in a 2012 specification Lotus E20 Formula One car during a closed test session in Spain for the current works Renault outfit.
Despite its origins as a Lotus Formula One car, the 2012 E20 is the official show car of the Renault team and is used during promotional events throughout the world. The car, a full year more modern than the last Grand Prix machinery Kubica drove before sustaining serious injuries in a rally accident in Andorra during F1 preseason testing, will be shared with Russian youngster and Renault test driver Sergey Sirotkin.
Kubica has been concentrating on a return to circuit racing in recent months, with seat time in both GT, Prototype, Formula E and GP3 machinery already behind the popular Pole, however it is not expected that the Renault test will be anything other than a gesture of good will from the team, and not the beginning of a program of development with a view to Kubica making his return to Formula One racing.
Speaking recently in an interview with recently Kubica expressed his desire to sample a modern Formula One car again, claiming that he didn’t feel his hand injury would prove a problem with his ability to perform in an open wheel racing car. When asked if the desire remains to drive top level open wheel cars, Kubica responded:
"I would like to try a Formula One car. It has been a while, so I would have to prove myself. But I think I could do it well."
"In my last three seasons, I managed to achieve a remarkable performance level, a level I think I lack a little bit of now. To get to that level of performance you have to work hard for so many years
"I have tried many simulators, and I am convinced that I would drive at 80 per cent of the F1 tracks. But not all of them."
It remains to be seen how serious Kubica will be taking the test in Spain, or even if the scheduled running will be timed by the team and circuit officials. However for a driver who's Grand Prix career was some cruelly cut short at the peak of his career, it is indeed nice to know Kubica can have just one last try in the fastest form of open wheel motorsport in the world."In my last three seasons, I managed to achieve a remarkable performance level, a level I think I lack a little bit of now. To get to that level of performance you have to work hard for so many years
"I have tried many simulators, and I am convinced that I would drive at 80 per cent of the F1 tracks. But not all of them."
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Happy to see Kubica back in a Grand Prix car? Can he do enough to earn a drive during a race in F1? Let us know in the comments section below!
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