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{ Kubica was seriously injured when his Skoda Fabia hit a wallRobert Kubica is recovering well and is psychologically "strong", according to a surgeon who has operated on him.

The 26-year-old Pole has been in hospital near Genoa, Italy, since he was seriously hurt in a crash while competing in a rally on 6 February.

Dr Igor Rossello said: "The good news is there have been no complications following all the surgery he has had.

"He is doing pretty well and his condition is positive considering what he has been through."

Dr Rossello, who operated on Kubica's right hand, which was nearly severed in the crash, added: "What is very important is there is no sign of infection, which is the main concern, and he also no longer needs intensive care, so he has begun the rehabilitation process."

He added that Kubica, who finished eighth in the 2010 drivers' table, had regained "a little bit of sensitivity" in the hand and was able to slightly flex his fingers.

Kubica has undergone three operations since his car left the road in the Ronde di Andora.

In addition to the hand injury, he sustained multiple fractures to a leg and arm.

Fellow drivers and F1 staff paid tributes to the Pole during testing

The medical team attending Kubica say he will spend at least two more weeks at the Santa Corona hospital in Petra Ligure, while he is recovering from the operations.

Kubica is expected to miss the entire 2011 season, although he told Gazzetta dello Sport last week that he was aiming to return to F1 before the end of the year.

Renault have since named his former BMW Sauber team-mate Nick Heidfeld as his stand-in.

"He [Kubica] is no longer in pain and his psychological condition is pretty good," added Rossello, in an interview on the Renault website.

"He's obviously keen to start the rehabilitation work as soon as possible. For the next couple of weeks he will stay here so we can monitor his condition.

"During that time there is still the possibility of infection and other complications, so he will have the dressings on his hand changed every few days."

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Labels: aposrecovering, Kubica, Robert, Sport, surgeon, wellapos

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ROBERT KUBICA is unlikely to race in Formula 1 this year after suffering horrifying injuries while competing in a rally in Italy on Sunday.

And a question mark hung over his entire Grand Prix career because of the nature of his injuries which smashed up the right side of his body.

Some reports said a crash barrier pierced the centre of the car and he suffered multiple fractures to his right arm, hands and leg.

The biggest concern is his partially severed right hand.

Surgeons said they had managed to save it having to be amputated but they will not even know for a week exactly whether he will get full use of it again.

Intricate operations had to be carried out to restore its blood supply.

And over Sunday night and into Monday the Renault Lotus racer was put in an induced coma to help with the recovery process.

Kubica, was set to be Renault’s lead driver for the season, starting in Bahrain in a little over a month’s time.           

Now medical staff say he is unlikely to contest any of the gruelling 20-race series.

He was trapped in the car for an hour, which is unheard of in a rally, and later  underwent a seven-hour operation at Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure.

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The accident happened just three miles after the start of the Ronde di Andora rally.

He lost control of his Super 2000 Skoda Fabia which he had been set to race a few weeks earlier at the famous Monte Carlo Rally.

Hand specialist Doctor Igor Rossello said it would take several days for doctors to assess the success of the operation.

"We need to wait for a week at least to verify whether the hand survives," he told Italian media.

"The nerve lesions are the ones that leave us with the most question marks over the recovery of functions.

“Rehabilitation will be relatively long, probably one year. “

But he added that motor racing drivers recover faster than other patients.

“Drivers are always very special patients. I have a lot of motorbike patients and they heal in a much faster way, faster than normal people."       

Kubica's co-driver Jakub Gerber was uninjured.

“After we crashed I saw Robert holding his arm, and after a few moments he lost consciousness,” he said.

Bruno Senna was tipped to be favourite to stand in for the Pole but they may now need a more senior racer is Kubica is out for the entire season.

Follow F1 correspondent Byron Young on Twitter

Get more motorsport news and opinion, including driver diaries, on Mirror.co.uk's motorsport blog.

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Labels: Again, Formula, Kubica, Mirrorcouk, Robert, unlikely

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Kubica’s accident appears to have polarised opinion within the paddock between those who consider allowing such activities irresponsible and those who consider them essential.

Three-times world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, a man who regularly raced in sports cars during his F1 career, said he was more inclined these days to consider such activities irresponsible having been a team owner himself.

His argument is that teams and sponsors pour millions of pounds into racing every year and hundreds of people depend on that for jobs.

“You’ve got to look after that investment,” Stewart said. “It’s quite a challenge to stop drivers doing the things I believe are unwise leading up to a F1 season. Skiing is the one you would immediately think of.”

Yet Ferrari annually raise eyebrows by allowing their highly-paid drivers to ski every year at their pre-season trip to the Italian Dolomites.

And speaking on Monday at the launch of the MVR-02, Virgin team principal John Booth admitted he had recently taken his two drivers skiing as well.

“We took Jerome [d’Ambrosio] and Timo [Glock] skiing a couple of weeks ago,” Booth said. “We said ’OK guys, stick to the piste blah blah blah.’ So we got to the top of the lift, the gates opened and they were just flat out.

“They were everywhere. And that’s how they are. That’s what makes them so good. It’d be difficult to stifle that, wouldn’t it? You can’t wrap them in cotton wool.” Some teams try.

It is understood that McLaren’s two British drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, must seek permission if they wish to pursue any sort of dangerous extra-curricular activity. A request to go rallying would not likely be granted.

Over at Red Bull, Christian Horner said last December he would consider banning Mark Webber from mountain biking after the Australian broke a second bone in as many years falling off his bike.

Ultimately, each team is different although whether attitudes will harden in light of Kubica’s accident remains to be seen.

The Pole remained in an induced coma on Monday, woken only briefly to speak to family and friends, as doctors at the Santa Corona Hospital near Genoa rested him ahead of possible further operations to fractures of the shoulder and elbow.

Professor Mario Igor Rossello, part of the team who carried out the seven-hour operation to save Kubica’s right hand on Sunday night, cautioned that it would be a while yet before it could be deemed successful.

“The hand is warm and this means the operation went well,” Rossello said.

“We need at least six days to check if the circulation of the blood in the limb responds as it should.”

That leaves Renault in an awkward position. Boullier said on Monday that he would not make a decision on Kubica’s replacement until he knew how long he would be out for. However, with the second of four winter tests starting in Jerez on Thursday, time is of the essence.

Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean are Renault’s two reserves waiting in the wings, but Boullier is believed to favour signing a driver with greater experience.

Nick Heidfeld, with 172 grands prix behind him, has that in abundance while there has been a groundswell of support for 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen to return.

The Finn’s manager, Steve Robertson, was unavailable for comment on Monday night.

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Labels: crash, decision, defend, Kubica, rally, rallying, Renault, Robert, Telegraphcouk

{ Bruno Senna could be the short-term solution to Renault's problems. Photograph: Andrew Hone/Getty Images

With Robert Kubica extremely unlikely to take any part in the 2011 Formula One season following his accident in a rally in Italy a seat with a top team has become available with the first race a little over a month away.

Kubica demonstrated the potential of Renault's new R31 at last week's test in Valencia when he posted the fastest time and the team will find it difficult to replace the 26-year-old Pole, who is regarded as one of the best on the grid despite only having one grand prix victory so far.

With the Russian Vitaly Petrov confirmed in the team's second car, with only one error-strewn season behind him, Renault may well look beyond their five-strong pool of test and reserve drivers despite the team principal, Eric Boullier, saying last week that the recently signed Bruno Senna would step up if a race seat became available.

"I will give the one who is ready, and Bruno is the most ready driver," Boullier said. That was in reference to piloting a contemporary Formula One car, which Senna did with little success for Hispania Racing last season.

Of the others in Renault's pool, Romain Grosjean contested seven grands prix for the team in 2009 as a replacement for Nelson Piquet Jr but failed to impress, Fairuz Fauzy drove in a handful of practice sessions for Lotus last season, and neither Jan Charouz nor Ho-Pin Tung has more than a few testing miles to their names and they are way short of being ready.

Another option could be a bold approach to the Force India team for the loan of their reserve driver Nico Hülkenburg. The young German qualified on pole position for Williams in Brazil last year during his rookie season but failed to keep his drive when he could not bring any sponsorship to the team.

He was highly rated by Sir Frank Williams and is managed by Willi Weber, who guided the career of Michael Schumacher. It is thought that Force India are unlikely to accommodate any approach as they plan to use Hülkenburg during Friday practice sessions as they did with Paul di Resta, who has a race seat this year, last season.

Experienced drivers are few and far between. The Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi is being touted for the remaining seat at Hispania but will now be hoping for a call from Renault. The veteran German Nick Heidfeld is also available after losing his Sauber drive last year in favour of the GP2 runner-up Sergio Pérez, who came armed with a fistful of Telmex dollars.

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, was talked about as a replacement for Petrov in the off-season but the Finn drives for Citroen in the world rally championship and would be hard, and expensive, to extricate from any contract. There is also the question of his desire. He never enjoyed the strict, disciplined lifestyle expected of the modern F1 driver and the sport has not got any more relaxed since he was dropped by Ferrari at the end of the 2009 season.

Jacques Villeneuve, tried to enter his own team over the winter but his entry was rejected by the FIA. The 1997 world champion still harbours ambitions to be behind the wheel and was believed to be considering piloting his own entry had it been accepted.

Senna is the short-term option but there is a feeling at Renault that their new car is a contender. It would appear that only Renault's stricken Pole could have made the R31 such a thing.

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Labels: Contenders, Guardian, Kubica, Renault, replace, Robert, scarce

{ The wrecked car of Robert Kubica after his rallying accident in Andora, Italy. Photograph: Roberto Ruscello/AP

The career of one of the most promising young Formula One drivers was hanging in the balance tonight after an accident in a low-key rally in Italy left him badly injured and having surgery to try to save the use of his right hand.

Robert Kubica, 26, who drives for the Renault team, was competing in a Skoda Fabia on the Ronde di Andora when he suffered a high-speed crash into a church wall and then a barrier shortly after the start. It took rescue crews more than an hour to extract Kubica from the wreckage. Unconfirmed reports from the scene suggest that part of the barrier speared through the car's footwell into the cockpit.

The Pole, who is a national hero in his homeland, suffered multiple fractures to his right leg, arm and hand. He was airlifted from the crash site in the village of Testico to the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure on the Mediterranean coast where he underwent lengthy surgery.

The main area of concern is the driver's right hand, which, although safe from amputation, is severely damaged and it is too early for doctors to give a prognosis on a full recovery. It is the same arm that was badly injured in a road accident in 2003 and left him with titanium bolts to support the shattered bones.

Kubica's manager, Daniele Morelli, said last night: "The surgeons are trying to restore the functionality of the right hand. They must now think about the muscle function, but Robert has a very strong temper and will succeed." The Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that more surgery will be required after today's preliminary operation.

Kubica, who was due to start his fifth full season in Formula One in Bahrain next month, set the fastest time in testing last week and grand prix insiders regard him as one of the sport's supreme talents and a future world champion who could have earned anything up to $100m from his career as a driver. He made his debut for the BMW Sauber team in 2006 after eye-catching victories in the junior formulas, the traditional testing ground for emerging talent.

He hit the headlines in 2007 when he emerged almost unscathed from a terrifying high-speed crash in Montreal that was a testament to the strength of the modern Formula One car. A year later, and at the same track, he won his first, and so far only, grand prix. When BMW withdrew from Formula One at the end of 2009, unable to justify the cost after a dreadful season, Kubica signed for the Renault team and achieved some strong results, including second in Australia and third at Monaco, considered the greatest test of a driver's skill.

The feeling was that this would be the year Kubica would take on the sport's elite on the track and would soon be able to match them in the earnings stakes. In the ultra-secret world of Formula One finance hard figures are difficult to come by but Renault are believed to paying Kubica $10m a year until 2012, with Fernando Alonso earning four times that much at Ferrari.

Modern Formula One drivers' contracts usually forbid them from taking part in "high-risk" activities for fear of injury but the drivers are famed for seeking adrenaline rushes away from the track and Kubica is far from the first driver to put his career – and life – in jeopardy pursuing high-risk hobbies.

A spokesperson for the Renault team, which is based in Enstone in Oxfordshire, would not comment on whether Kubica had sought permission to compete in the rally although he has taken part in club rallies for several years. It is thought the car he crashed today, a powerful model that competes in international events, was one he purchased two years ago.

In the first three decades of the Formula One world championship, which began in 1950, drivers regularly competed in various brands of motor sport when they were not competing in grands prix. Top drivers such as Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart travelled the world to race in anything that might take them to a win.

Since the 1970s Formula One drivers are very much that, only occasionally skiing or mountain-biking in the off-season to keep fit and satisfy their need for speed and even that has proved hazardous. Two years ago the Australian driver Mark Webber broke a leg when he was hit by a 4x4 while taking part in a bike race.

Tonight fellow drivers offered their support to the popular Kubica.

Britain's former world champion Jenson Button, who drives for McLaren said on his Twitter page: "Shocking news about Robert Kubica. I wish him a speedy recovery."

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello tweeted: "I would like to ask you for your best wishes to Kubica. He is being operated right now. We all like him and he deserves all the best."

Sebastian Buemi of Toro Rosso said: "All my support to Robert Kubica. I am with you man."They will also be very aware that just as Robert Kubica was about to join the elite of formula one, his career may well have been snatched away from him by his desire to take part in one of the most basic forms of the sport.

Mark Webber

Breaks a leg when hit by a car mountain-biking in Tasmania before the 2009 season. Drives with steel rods in his leg. In 2010 goes over the handlebars on a training ride and fractures shoulder one week before the Japanese grand prix

Juan Pablo Montoya

Missed two races for McLaren in 2005 after injuring a shoulder "playing tennis". Stories that the damage was done when he fell off a motorbike engulf the paddock and McLaren are not amused

Michael Schumacher

Potential comeback with Ferrari in 2009 is aborted when neck injury caused by a motorcycle accident can't take the strain

Patrick Depailler

Misses the last eight races of the 1979 season – and a shot at the world title – after breaking his legs in a hang-gliding crash. The Ligier team dispense with his services. He joins Alfa Romeo but is killed in a crash at Hockenheim in 1980 during a private testing session

Didier Pironi

Survives career-ending crash in practice for the 1982 German grand prix. Takes up power boat racing and is killed in 1987 off the Isle of Wight

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Labels: fight, Formula, Guardian, Kubica, Robert, Surgeons

{ GENOA, Italy (AP) — Formula One driver Robert Kubica of Poland was injured Sunday in a rally car accident in Italy just weeks before the start of the new Grand Prix season, his Lotus Renault team said.Local health authority officials in Italy said Kubica's life was not in danger, and that the worst damage appeared to be to his limbs.

"Certainly it is a very delicate situation, as the first hours always are after a huge trauma, one in which there could also have been a strong bleeding," Roberto Carrozzino, a local health authority official, told Sky Italia.

The ANSA news agency reported that an operation on the 26-year-old driver began just before 1300 GMT after professor Igor Rossello, a hand specialist, was called to the hospital.

Kubica, eighth in last year's F1 world championship, now looks unlikely to race at Bahrain on March 13.

His team said in a statement that Kubica "suffered an accident at high speed this morning while competing in the Ronde di Andora Rally" and was "airlifted to Pietra Ligure Hospital, where he is currently undergoing medical checks."

Carrozzino said the driver underwent an examination to assess any possible damage to internal organs and the brain. Asked about a report that one his arms would be amputated, Carrozzino said that "all assessments have yet to be made."

"An amputation is not a decision that is made so rapidly," he said. "I do not confirm or deny this report."

Kubica arrived at the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure, a small coastal town about 35 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of Genoa, about two hours after the accident because it was difficult to extract him, Carrozzino said.

ANSA said fractures of one of Kubica's hands appeared particularly serious. French sports channel Eurosport reported that Kubica may have a fractured hip and multiple other injuries, including possibly a fracture to his arm or wrist.

There was no immediate comment from the hospital, though they said there would be an update on Kubica's condition later in the day.

ANSA said the driver was 4.6-kilometers from the start of the rally, near Genoa, when his car left the road and hit a wall. His co-driver Jakub Gerber was unhurt, the Lotus Renault team said.

Kubica was due to lead the Lotus Renault F1 team this season alongside Vitaly Petrov of Russia, with former HRT driver Bruno Senna named as a third driver. Romain Grosjean, who drove for Renault in 2009, was also named third driver alongside Senna.

It was not immediately known whether Senna or Grosjean would take Kubica's place in Bahrain should he fail to recover.

Last week, Kubica closed Formula One's first test session of the season with the fastest time over three days in Valencia, Spain.

The next F1 test session is Feb. 10-13 in Jerez, Spain.

___

AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris and Associated Press Writer Alessandra Rizzo in Rome contributed to this report.

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Labels: crash, injured, Kubica, Renaultaposs, Robert, Today