Kubica Nearly Donned the Red Gloves

Recently in an interview, Williams reserve driver Robert Kubica said that he had signed for Scuderia Ferrari in 2012.

The Polish veteran is currently a third driver for Williams Martini, after fighting his way back to Formula 1 after his accident. He spoke about his early career and his F1 career with BMW Sauber & Renault. The 33-year old also opened up on his life-changing rallying accident in 2011.

Speaking about the accident, Kubica said that that rally was supposed to be his last. He said“The biggest thing was that that rally was actually going to be my last one, as the team I was going to drive for in 2012 wouldn’t have let me rally. Renault allowed me to go do this rally as they felt guilty over me having a lot of car failures. I didn’t actually want to go do that rally, flying to Milan, driving here, driving there, all that effort, but I did do it.”

Kubica had been linked with the Scuderia throughout the 2010 season, he said: “Yes, it was a red team. This isn’t new, this news had been already published then. I don’t know if Fernando [Alonso] knew. I would have been paid less than at Renault.”

Ever since that fateful accident, he spoke about why he drove rally cars, a dangerous extra-curricular activity that cost him.

“When i was a child, I wasn’t thinking solely about F1 – I just wanted to be the best I can. I was, and still am, a big fan of rallying. I was searching for something outside of F1 that would make me a better driver; finding skills that the other drivers I’d be racing wouldn’t have.

I still think that, with the small bit of rallying I did in 2010, I scored more points in F1 than I would have if I hadn’t been rallying – sensitivity, staying going on slicks in wet conditions, small things like that. I paid a big price, and I’m still paying for it. Rallying was not just for fun. The desire to become a better driver and find something the others don’t have, I wasn’t happy to just be at the level I was – I needed more. It gave me that, but I paid too high a price.”

“I haven’t become a Ferrari driver, but I came so close. My recovery was so hard that for the first 18 months, this didn’t hurt because I was concentrating on my injuries and recovery. The more time passes, the more difficult this became. There were hard moments where recovery and surgeries took 100% of me, but I missed Formula 1. Recovery was painful but it was not made more painful by knowing I should have been in the Ferrari. It’s more painful now.”