Kubica impresses on return

Robert Kubica made his first official Formula One outing in more than six years yesterday as the Pole took another major step on his remarkable comeback trail.

Kubica managed 142 laps at the Hungaroring and improved his time from the morning session by four tenths to finish an impressive fourth in the order in his first taste of this year’s Renault.

The 32-year-old partially severed his right arm in a rallying crash back in 2011 that brought a sudden halt to a grand prix career which had seen him earmarked as future champion.

But Kubica appeared to show no ill-effects of the injury on his first official test in an F1 car for 2,372 days as Sebastian Vettel was fastest for Ferrari.

“It’s great for him to be back,” Vettel, who leads Lewis Hamilton by 14 points in the championship race, said. “There was never a doubt about his talent, his speed and his ability to drive the car.

“The cars are different this year, which should fit his style. I hope that he will have fun.”

Kubica was cheered on by an army of Polish supporters who chanted his name throughout the concluding day of this week’s test.

The Pole made 76 grands prix starts, and finished on the podium 12 times. He also won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg is set to be retained by Renault next year, but the future of Jolyon Palmer is uncertain after his failure to score a single point this season. Renault could even be tempted to put Kubica in their car in place of Palmer following the summer break.

Robert Kubica: fourth fastest on the day.