Kubica’s F1 return a step closer with 2017 car test

Robert Kubica’s hopes of completing a dream Formula One comeback were given a major boost yesterday when it was confirmed he will drive a 2017 Renault in Hungary next week.

Kubica, who has recently completed two tests in the 2012 Renault, will be handed his first taste of the new generation of grand prix car at the Hungaroring following the conclusion of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

He will drive for Renault on the second day of the inseason test which starts a week today.

Renault described the Pole’s participation in the test as “a new phase in assessing Kubica’s capabilities”.

“The first two days of testing allowed both Robert and ourselves to gather a great amount of information,” Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul added in a short statement released by the French team on Monday.

“The upcoming session with the R.S.17 at the Hungaroring will allow us all to obtain detailed and precise data in a current car and representative conditions.

“After this test, we will carefully analyse the collected information to determine in what conditions it would be possible for Robert to return to competition in the upcoming years.”

Kubica, 32, has been sidelined for more than six years after a rallying incident saw him partially sever his right arm. The Pole completed 115 laps at a private test in Valencia in June before a further trial last week in which he managed 90 laps of the Paul Ricard circuit in France.

Kubica, who won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, was regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation before the accident which brought his F1 career to a sudden halt.

Renault, the team for whom Kubica drove before his crash, are yet to announce their driver line-up for next season. German Nico Hulkenberg joined Renault this season on a multi-year deal while Britain’s Jolyon Palmer agreed a one-year extension at the end of his rookie campaign last season.