Robert Kubica’s crash in the Ronde di Andora Rally earlier today has quickly made headlines in various motoring and motorsport websites. The crash occurred just 4.6 kilometers into the Italian rally and his Formula 1 team, Lotus Renault has confirmed that he is suffering from multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand and is currently undergoing surgery at the Santa Corona Hospital.
Although it is not life threatening, Kubica’s injuries may well prevent him from taking part in at least the first few races of the 2011 season, which begins on 13th March in Bahrain. With such fractures, Kubica may even find it hard to nestle himself into the cockpit of a Formula 1 car, let alone race in one for many laps and endure all the G forces. If the fractures are minor, the team would have at least stated so in its second press release.
If Kubica doesn’t recover in time, Lotus Renault will have to temporarily replace him. The team’s third driver list is made up by Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean. Senna raced for HRT in 2010, which means he has one year of race experience in Formula 1. Romain Grosjean has slightly less race experience, after replacing Nelson Piquet Jr in 2009 in Renault starting from the European Grand Prix.
Other reserve drives for the team include Malaysia’s Fairuz Fauzy, Ho-Pin Tung and Jan Charouz. None of these drivers have raced in Formula 1 before. It is even more difficult to utilize test or reserve drivers for races these days especially with very limited testing. Furthermore, Lotus Renault’s second driver and Kubica’s team mate, Russian Vitaly Petrov also has one year of race experience under his belt.
So if things really go bad, as in if Kubica is sidelined at least for a couple of races, would it be a good idea for Lotus Renault to have two drivers, both with one year of race experience each to pilot their cars? Probably not. If so, who can the team look for?
Lets look at several potential options. It would be wise for the team to hire a driver who has both the experience and has recently raced a Formula 1 car. Nick Heidfeld seems to be a good candidate. He has taken part in 174 races and has been regarded as a quick and consistent driver. He started off his Formula 1 career with Prost in 2000 before joining Sauber the following year. Then in 2004 he raced for Jordan before moving to Williams in 2005 and then to BMW Sauber from 2006 until 2009, when BMW quit Formula 1.
He was signed up as Mercedes GP’s reserve driver in 2010 and subsequently became the official Pirelli test driver later that year. He also took part in the final five races of the 2010 season with Sauber, after replacing Pedro de la Rosa who failed to make a good impression along side team mate Kamui Kobayashi. The German has scored 225 points and went up to the podium twelve times. The 33 year old was even linked to a Renault drive for the 2011 season. Also, one should not forget that Heidfeld has more experience with the new Pirelli tires, compared to the current contenders.
The other driver that could fit the bill is Nico Hulkenberg, who raced for Williams in 2010. Currently a reserve driver for Force India, Hulkenberg scored eleven points in his rookie year and even scored a pole position in Brazil. However just like Lotus Renault’s Bruno Senna, he also has one year of race experience, but well justified with his performance. Other available drivers include ex-HRT driver Karun Chandhok, ex-Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi and ex-Force India driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.
The first two have one year of race experience each but Liuzzi has more, after starting off with Red Bull in 2005. He then raced for Toro Rosso in 2006 and 2007 before racing in five races for Force India in 2009 and a full season in 2010. Japanese driver Sakon Yamomoto also has spent some time in the cockpit, after scoring a race seat in several rounds in 2007 with Spyker. Following two years of absence from the sport, he took part in several races with HRT in 2010.
Christian Klien also could be a potential candidate. His Formula 1 debut was with Jaguar in 2004 before racing for Red Bull in 2005 and 2006. After three years of testing with Honda (2007) and BMW Sauber (2008 and 2009), he returned to the race seat in 2010, replacing Yamamoto for three races. It would also be great to see 2007 Champion Kimi Raikkonen in a Formula 1 seat, but who knows? He was rumored to drive for Renault this year but obviously that wasn’t the case. My bet? Nick Heidfeld would be a strong candidate.
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i think PROTON and GROUP LOTUS want Bruno Senna la
Jazeman Jaafar!
or
Fairuz Fauzy!
please bring in kimiiiiii !!!!!
fairuz fauzy.. c’mon.
if they opt for other than their 5 reserve drivers… than what’s the point for having reserve driver at all.
they must have faith on their own reserve drivers line-up otherwise all these sweet press statement before about their reserve drivers are only false hopes upon their reserve drivers.
Bingo! That was my thought too. Why have 5 reserve driver if when the time comes they went and hired another temporary driver right?
That’s true but the most consistent and experienced of the available lot is Heidfeld. And he’s great when it comes to feedback for the engineers. Kimi’s good but he tends to drive the wheels off whatever car he’s in.
Dany Bahar (LOTUS GROUP CEO) announced the replacement driver for Robert Kubica is Kimi Raikkonen with Gino Rosato (LOTUS GROUP Vice-President of Corporate Affairs) to partner Kimi Raikkonen eating ice-cream in the F1 garage and to take care of Kimi Raikkonen corporate affairs.
Why not alternate their reserves driver? Then all will have time and experience on an actual F1 racing. Plus I think it’s a good PR stunt.
Fairuz should get that seat..Happy chinese new year Paul!
Robert Kubica, you know our thoughts are with you! Get well, and hope to see you in the race seat soon!
Perhaps, Lotus Renault should try putting Fairus in the seat for one or a few selected rounds.
friday practice is the highest he could get this season. gp2 series would be the last chance for him to prove himself. otherwise he would be just like pedro de la rosa & luca badoer. test/reserve driver for the rest of his life.
Go for Nick Heidfield
vote for Nick Heidfeld….!!
If its my decision and should be economical…
I will pit all the reserve drivers at somewhere only we know, give’em the Lotus Renault f1 car and let them drive back-to-back, collect some data and do some statistic (i pay all these engineers for what) and pick the best one.
The best doesn’t mean who record the fastest lap time. Consistency, endurance, etc which is why the statistic is there…
i reckon that they will opt to their reserved driver, which is bruno in the top list and give couples of round for him to prove. If not, then they will disclose their most secret, which is the Stig (Kimi under the helmet). Hehehehe…
poor kubica, still ‘high’ from his previous test in valencia with the fastest time…shouldn’t have participate in other sport and concentrate on his f1
The time has come for Fairuz to up the ante !!
..this is the chance of a lifetime to
prove that you’ve got what it takes to be a top notch driver.
and R. Kubica, The Almighty is by your side and you will
pull through this trying time.
“Wracaj do zdrowia!”
Bring back Kimi raikkonen or juan pablo montoya.. :)
Robert is in an induced coma and there’s a high chance he won’t be racing in 2011. :-(
The reserves can’t have race experience if they are not put in there can they? Common sense, reserves are to replace regulars if they are unavailable. Fairuz should be the man.
They said Senna is their #1 reserve driver and if they don’t stick to that, then it was all false claims and lies. They won’t benefit from an average driver who can finish races, they’re long past that period and should only focus on fighting for victories. Someone young and motivated, even if not as consistent, is a far better choice. The aim in racing is to win, not to hang around and score a handful of points, plus with the lack of testing a more experienced driver isn’t really going to help, especially as past experience wouldn’t count for much with all the rule changes (see Schumacher). I wish Kubica would recover quickly, but in the meantime give Bruno Senna the chance he deserves.
nick heidfeld
PROTON, Dany Bahar and Gino Rosato…
please bring back Kimi Raikkonen to F1 with PROTON!
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen
Come on Kimi, come back to F1 !
Kimi Raikkonen is top of Lotus Renault’s list to replace the injured Robert Kubica following his crash at a rally event on Sunday morning.
It is understood that Lotus Renault team principal Eric Boullier is now in the search for a more established ‘name’ to fill the seat vacated by Kubica and that negotiations with Raikkonen have begun to try and buy him out of his contract for a reasonable price.
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=399363
Really hope this becomes Hulkenberg’s ticket in.
The LRGP ‘reserves’ are not that promising. Best bet maybe Grosjean or Senna.. maybe even Ho Pin Tung nut not really Fairuz. Lets face it, the reserves are there not for their well heeled talents
Give Nick Heidfeld a chance. He’s a good and consistent driver. He might not win podiums but he can give points. I love Kimi Raikkonen but it felt weird for him to join LRGP after last year controversy. Tak ngamla hehehe…
Or else, try all the reserve drivers by giving them race one by one. Who knows, amongst the 4 reserve/testing driver there is a ‘sleeping dragon’ waiting to awake hehe…
They can always borrow either Trulli or Kovalainen from the ‘other’ Lotus to become 1st driver.
All the Lotuses are ours after all….
Kimi Raikkonen is a wise investment!
Robert Kubica’s 2011 Formula One season over: surgeon
http://www.caradvice.com.au/103287/robert-kubicas-2011-formula-one-season-over-surgeon
three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart said the Lotus Renault GP team were larger than individuals, and said hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in sponsorship were placed in jeopardy when the number one drivers were not out on the track.
“You’ve got to look after that investment,” Stewart said.
…
Kimi Raikkonen have a very big fanbase in this world, Kimi Raikkonen is always a better investment.
PROTON must sign Kimi Raikkonen!!!
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen even can do fastest lap in Sauber Petronas F1 car that use previous year engine at a very young age.. no one in F1 history ever made something like that.. Kimi Raikkonen is special!
MY BET IS ON KIMI RAIKKONEN!!!
http://twitter.com/Formula1_com about 2 hours ago via Twitter for Android
“Finish reporter says renault have been flown over to Finland to have negotiatings with ex Ferrari champion Kimi Raikkonen.”
http://www.formula1.com
PROTON, Dany Bahar, Genii Capital and Renault, please bring back Kimi Raikkonen to F1 this season!!!
KIMI RAIKKONEN for 2011 Formula One Championship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!