Robert Kubica has today informed Lotus Renault GP that he will not be ready for the start of the 2012 season, despite having started an intensive training programme. The Pole is still recovering from his really crash earlier this year and thereby gives the green light to LRGP to select its drivers for the 2012 campaign.
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Looks like Renault will need a new team leader. That just cost them a team leader and their lead car developer. At least for the first few rounds, I guess. But they're losing out on valuable testing miles that could ahve been used to develop the car.
That's terrible news. It is a hazard of the sport and we expect it to happen to someone, but the world stops when the abstract probability becomes a person with a name and face.
After that you think "why", how could this happen?
Then when you know he's OK, your engineering mind turns to lessons to be learnt.
Some reports have mentioned Massa. Personally, I remember Surtees. It is too easy to forget the unsung drivers who have died in this sport.
I wish Kubica a speedy recovery, I hope he gets well soon.
If this was indeed a massive hand crush, the big thing will be keeping the thing clean after removing all dead tissue during surgery. Inadequate debridement and/or leaving a dead space which fills with fluid and detritus behind the flexor tendons leads on to infection, devascularisation of the fingers and amputation. I hope not, but 'crushed hand' is a really rough one.
Lets hope a speedy recovery is on the cards for Robert.
Before turning to replacements, id like to say that in F1 we are blessed in comparison to some other series like rallying in safety terms. Looking at some of the big accidents in recent years, Hamilton and Kovalinenn could have been so much worse off in with their cars spearing off into barriers at Nurburgring and Barcelona. Not least Kubica and Webber's big accidents in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Massa and Glock are the only drivers in recent years to be injured in F1, Ho Pin Tung, Jules Bianchi and Josef Kral (i think) had some monster shunts in GP2 as well, but all survived, lower than that its a bit more of a lottery as we saw at Brands Hatch with Surtees in F2 and Superleague Formula last year. As for tin tops and ALMS, their safety is as good as F1 generally especially after the shunt in DTM last year that destroyed the Audi (i think). Im not saying that Rallying is unsafe, but i feel that there should start looking into safety a little more, especially at the firewall bulkhead.
As for replacements, it could be time for Renault to sign Heidfeld on a limited contract??? But feel they will throw their weight behind Petrov and develop the R31 for him and put Senna into the seat that Kubica was in to keep the seat warm for him. Or could they go for Lucas Di Grasi or De La Rosa??? Theres not much out there thats avalable.