Manoah2u wrote:
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this would usher in a whole new interesting discussion point, because if it is a benefit to the driver, you could concider it driver aid and thus could become an unfair advantage. Why would a driver with a 'slight' handicap be allowed to use mechanical devices for improvement, but a normal driver would not be allowed? how could you ever regulate that? I don't think you can. Imagine a good olypmic sprinter losing a leg and then getting a prostetic, then beating usain bolt breezing by. It would be unfair advantage, even though not using it would pose a handicap.
Therefor, it would never happen. It cant be regulated. And if without F1 is impossibile, it's impossible. Simple as that.
I think kubica should apply for race of the champions.
And i must say, he seems to crash HARD quite regurarly. He had that very hard F1 accident [not his only hefty crash], then we have this serious near-fatal rally crash and after his comeback in rally he had several other crashes. And romain gets labeled crashkid?
I rather think Robert is like Felipe - something more then just the fysical aspect might have gotten damaged. MAssa isn't the same after his 'crash'. I think that would be the case exponentially more for Kubica just as well.
I think people should just start to accept Kubica has gone as far as he's able to go now. There will no way be any progress anymore, and so, what he's doing now is where his border is. And if he's happy with it, good for him, he should be very happy seeing how fortunate he is with the recovery. I could see him even doing NASCAR or DTM. Perhaps even Le Mans.
It just depends on how much restrain he is performing with his right arm handicap [if that is really the problem, the handicap may just as well be something entirely different].
Oh... this is going to be a long post. Sorry If it looks like a fanboism, I will do my best to be objective.
I entirely agree with the first part. There's no way to regulate such aid. So if Kubica is to ever be back in F1, he'll have to do it the hard way. In his own words, the rehabilitation progress done this year is huge, so I wouldn't be so fast to write him off just yet.
About the rest... I'd rather You stayed honest with facts.
So You're saying that winning a world title during a debut year in a category that, while was just a hobby, nearly killed him, means that he has some psychological restraints? Curious. You almost labeled Kubica the true crash kid. How many more crashes, apart from the famous Canada, can You recall? I just looked up the stats since Canada (10.06.2007) for You, so You can test Your theory easier: in remaining 10 GPs he attended in 2007 1 DNF - mechanical failure. 2008 - 2 DNFs - attacked from behind by Nakajima in Australia and trapped in gravel-pit at Silverstone (IIRC in a rainy weather with a car with broken suspension, which even forbidden him to complete the qually, but thats irrelevant), hardly a hard crash. In 2009 3 DNFs - Malaysia - mechanical failure, Monaco - mechanical failure, Monza - mechanical failure. 2010, also 3 DNF's - GB - mechanical failure, HUN - bizzare situation with Sutil in pitlane and in consequence, some laps later finished in pits, Japan, badly mounted tyre fell off. Thats it. No trauma related kamikaze style or limitations, quite the oposite thou, Kubica won the next Canadian GP after the accident, and for quite a long time in 2008 he was a serious title contender. Pity BMW decided to cut development early in the season... As with rallying. Accidents happen there quite often, its not F1. He won WRC2 Championship thats for one. He had a harsh start, thats true, but kept cool when it mattered, and You just cannot say he was slow. And about this last accident... Rallies are a team effort, co-pilot is quite important there and can make mistakes too. Kubica had a week to find a new copilot, when M. Baran, couldn't go, so for M. Ferrara it was a first time with Robert. Plus he had to change notes language to italian, plus this was a first rally in a DS3 WRC plus first time in Wales, so I guess we can't make any serious judgment in those conditions?
Maybe some opinions by people who actually know the sport will be more convincing. There's a guy, named Seb Ogier, who happens to know a thing or two about rallying. He said today: " To debut in GB, with a new pilot - I just can't imagine that! It was a tough rally for him, but he proved that when something has 4 wheels and a steering wheel he will have great pace straight away. Huge talent". There's also certain Jari Mati Latvala, who You might know. His comment: "I knew he would do good, but not that good (commenting on pace). A thought that I could start this rally with a new pilot and in a different language is a total abstraction to me!"
I hope that this data is sufficient to conclude, there's rather no psychological handicap in Kubica's case and he's not "another Massa".
