Robert Kubica has been in hospital in Italy for the last 10 weeks, following his rallying accident at the end of February. He says that he is now beginning to feel better and his strength is beginning to return. He will leave the Santa Corona hospitalin Pietra Ligure soon and will then spend a little time at home in Monaco before returning to Italy to begin a rehabilitation course at Riccardo Ceccarelli ‘s Formula Medicine facility in Viareggio.
Kubica says that he has been following the action this year and stays in close contact with the Renault team boss Eric Boullier.
“The potential of the car, which I already noticed in the February Valencia test, seems to be confirmed,” says the Pole. “As usual, it’s now important that the development done in Enstone continues to produce consistent updates for maintaining this level of performance. The guys did a great job with this car and I’m sure they’ll continue to improve.”
Kubica says that he will be trying to get back to full fitness to return to F1
“I’ll try to use my difficult experience to come back as strong as I possibly can,” he says. “The mobility of my hand is limited but this is pretty normal in this kind of situation, because the connected arm muscles are still very weak due to the long period of immobility. Things are definitely improving day by day.”
We wish him well.
joeblogsf1 
Such a shame that he is not there to really show us how fast that car could be…having said that, Hiedfield is more or less as quick on a good day, but I still dont think he quite has what Kubica has…its a shame Danny Bahar and Proton are so involved, otherwise I would quite enjoy watching the team this year!
On a side note, there have been a couple of instances of Briatore being quoted, not just in autosport (these days a rag with no humility) but I think also in the guardian or something similar…why do they still let him back. Surely you would not want to associate your newspaper with that man…It does seem like some people have rather forgotten what he did, which really irks me.
Great to see Robert recovering, hopefully we will see him back this year and back to his best.
Makes me think that soon the question will not be ‘What next for Robert Kubica?’ but ‘What\where next for Nick Heidfeld?’
link to full interview here
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90906
palvis,
It is a press release from the team
Maybe he will be fit and ready for next season, but maybe not, the number of paddles and buttons on the steering wheel nowadays needs both hands fully working, hopefully he will be good enough, but he may become another Schumacher.
(A couple of years before I discovered Joe’s blog I wrote in JamesA’s that perhaps Schumi would only be as good as the rest on his return, and that seems to be the situation in today’s less adventurous racing his mojo is still not working)
Phillipe Massa has made a good recovery, even if it took longer than expected by some. Kubica could do the same, but the mental recovery is just as tough as the physical.
However one thing that interest me is how much and who is paying? About 15 years ago (When I was still in Bupa,) I was in a Bupa hospital for two nights with diverticulitis. (old git’s disease) The bills were amazing, they kept coming, every day for well over a week, a new bill arrived for another item or service, all billed separately. Overall back then, without any surgery it must have added up to about £1000 per night. I would imagine it’s several times that now in the UK, let alone in a posh specialist Italian hospital. Still at least he will have had great food (it annoys me still, that I could not eat during my bupa experience, the menus were great!)
Henry, Guardian coverage has gone down the pan recently, not well-written, shallow research or knowledge, like tabloid coverage with a few long words. They used to be worth a look sometimes for the informed insight. Present chap presumably has Briatore on a list of important people.
I know from experience (not as bad as Robert’s; mine was only a finger that was nearly severed) what he is going through. When I was injured, I missed two and a half months of work. First, there is the immobility, wearing a cast while the tender ligaments heal. Then, when the cast is removed, every time you move the affected area, intense pain; worse that when the area is first injured. That period last about three to four months. After that, the area, in my case my ring finger, remains fairly stiff, despite daily use (I was a carpenter, swinging a framing hammer). I was injured back in 1993, and that finger is still very stiff, and is now turning arthritic from the scar tissue. Robert’s injuries are far more severe, and I can imagine the time needed to regain the dexterity to operate an F-1 car is going to take some time. I do wish him all the best and hope his is a speedy recovery.
I accidentally sliced though most of my thumb ligaments and tendons when I was a kid. Twenty years later, my experience is that my thumb is weaker but no less responsive (thank you Nintendo). So best wishes to Robert, I hope he is well enough in time for the Monte Carlo rally.
I really am missing Kubica, he’s the one element that this season is really missing to make it just perfect.
Renault would be wise to poach Kamui Kobayashi from Sauber. I feel they are very similar drivers in an F1 car. They both have excellent car control and driver very, very angry.
I really like Robert Kubica’s driving talent and persona, and I am really sad that he isn’t where he should be this year behind the wheel of pretty competitive 2011 Renault. I think he would have extracted the most out of this years Renault, given his obvious talent and steely resolve in races. I am sure he would have pinched podiums, and a win somewhere along the way, during 2011.
However…. as much as I don’t want this to be the case in the unknowable future – hearing some of the very downplayed press releases from Doctors and Renault on his evolving condition post surgery and metered evaluations of his long and difficult road to a modicum of mobility – I fear F1 will ne’er see Robert behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car again.
I hope I am proven wrong. I really hope Robert’s physical constitution and determination proves me wrong. The injuries he suffered (by description) do not simply bend to the ‘will of recovery’. Great fortune will have to smile on him too!
The formation of the measured and downplayed statement releases we are seeing in the Press doesn’t inspire ‘odds-on’ hope. It is not what they say – It is what they are failing yet to say, in rosy terms, that is the concern.
Blessings to grant Robert with the fortune he needs.
JF