Lotus Renault driver Robert Kubica is undergoing surgery on multiple fractures after suffering a high-speed accident while competing in the Ronde di Andora Rally in Italy. The 26-year-old Pole is said to be in a stable condition after surgery and although his injuries weren’t life-threatening, it is unlikely that Kubica will be fit by the time the 2011 F1 season begins on March 13th.
Lotus Renault announced Bruno Senna as its reserve driver last week, who ironically was expecting very little actual seat time in 2011, but is most likely now to replace Kubica for the first few races of the season.
The news initially broke on the Lotus Renault GP twitter feed (@OfficialLRGP) this morning, “Robert had an accident this morning in the Ronde di Andora Rally. He is undergoing medical checks. Will let you know when we know more.” The team then went on to update at approximately 2pm (GMT) this afternoon, saying “After extensive medical checks, Robert has been diagnosed with multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand. He is undergoing surgery
Kubica was competing in the Ronde di Andora Rally this weekend when just over 4km into the stage his Skoda Fabia rally car left the road and collided with the wall of a church. His co-driver, Jakub Gerber was unhurt in the incident. Robert was said to have remained conscious throughout the lengthy process to extract him from his car and was then airlifted to Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure.
Several of Robert’s friends and fellow grand prix drivers tweeted their thoughts following news of the incident, Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock said “I’m thinking of Robert, wish him all the best and hope to see him soon on the track and especially off-track as a friend”.
Rubens Barrichello said, “I would like to ask you for your best wishes to Kubica. He is being operated (on) right now. We all like him and he deserves all the best.” Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was then quoted in a statement, “Let’s all support Robert Kubica, who suffered an accident. Besides a great driver, he is a great person.”
We wish Robert a speedy recovery and hope he is able to return to the F1 cockpit soon.
UPDATE (17:00 GMT): In a statement to the press just over an hour ago (shortly after 16:30 CET), Daniel Morelli, manager of the Polish driver gave assurances that Robert’s injuries were not life threatening and that Doctors were focusing on Robert’s right-hand, which was badly injured in the crash. In the statement he said that “..it is not likely to require amputation of his right hand,” and reassured the waiting press that despite fractures to Robert’s leg and right arm, he expected Robert to recover in due time.
We will bring you further news when we receive it – the operation is still underway and not expected to finish until 20:00 CET this evening. Doctors will need to wait until Robert is conscious and able to move his right hand, before confirming if he is likely to suffer any enduring issues with his grip or mobility.
Written By
Steve Davies
Steve is an investor, private equity advisor and former Partner at KPMG, PwC and Bain. Most importantly he's a life-long car enthusiast, mountain biker and active sports enthusiast. He designs and builds technology platforms and is the architect behind Transmission.
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I posted an update on Twitter just a little while ago – but here are a few more details. Robert came out of surgery a few hours ago where the Doctors were focusing on reconstruction of the broken bones and also reattaching the blood supply to Robert’s right hand. They will need to wait for a week to see if the surgery was successful or whether the tissue was already dead. Obviously the blood supply needs to function properly to avoid the need for amputation. There will be need to be further surgery to address his injuries, which also include internal bleeding.
I wasn’t sure how serious the damage was at first, but Doctors have said they expect Robert will need to spend up to 1 year in rehabilitation before he can consider driving again, so it definitely looks like the 2011 F1 season with LotusRenault GP is firmly off the cards.
Anyone who is a fan of F1 will be gutted by this news, Robert was getting closer to being in a position to take his first F1 world championship – and few people would deny he was due to win it at some point soon.
I replied on Twitter to some people’s comments about ‘why’ Robert was competing in a rally so close to the start of the F1 season. If you’re not already aware, Robert is passionate about rallying – a couple of years ago he walked in unannounced to MSport’s HQ and asked to buy a Focus WRC car, when asked why he wanted to buy it, he just said that he fancied having a go at driving one for himself. He is such a huge fan of rally driving.
We wish him well and hope the surgery has been successful and that we see him back in the cockpit soon.
The word from Lotus Renault GP this morning is that “Doctors are reasonably satisfied with how Robert’s 7-hour operation went. His hand is well vascularised and warm, which is encouraging.”
We understand he has been placed in a coma to aid recovery, but Doctors are still saying that his recovery will be a long one, although racing drivers are an exceptional breed and are often able to exceed normal recovery expectations.
At a press conference this morning outside Santa Corona hospital near Genoa, surgeon Mario Igor Rossello confirmed the above and stated that “..the hand is warm and this means the operation went well, …we need at least six days to check if the circulation of the blood in the limb responds as it should.”
We will update this post as we receive any further news, but in the meantime you can follow the LRGP updates on Twitter at @OfficialLRGP and their news bulletins at http://www.lotusrenaultgp.com.
You can also get hold of a Twibbon to show your support at http://twb.ly/f02AU3