THE GOOD OIL

G-forces do remarkable things to racing drivers, but perhaps never has there been so much attention on a racer’s right arm during preseason testing.

Robert Kubica, the softly spoken moon-faced man from Poland who was such a feature of the F1 circus a decade ago has made a remarkable comeback, confirmed as Williams’ lead driver for the 2019 season, alongside F2 champ George Russell.

At 33, he’s not over the hill. But he has been away from Formula

1 for many years now and had a nasty crash and lengthy recovery process in the meantime. To say his return to the grid nearly 10 years after he left is unlikely is possibly understating things a bit.

His right hand and forearm were partially severed in a rally crash in

2011. Emergency services took over an hour to extricate him from the car. It was a sudden halt to a promising career, as Kubica had always seen as an under-rated talent by the F1 paddock at large and he had racked up 12 podium finishes within a few short seasons during the late-2000s.

The retirement of BMW from the championship in 2010 left him without a seat and he sped off towards other forms of motorsport. Now he’s back driving for a team boasting similar colours to his old BMW Sauber team. And we’re glad to see him.

Whether he extends his reach beyond the midfield remains to be seen, but we’re looking forward to some duels between Kubica’s Williams and the Renault of

Daniel Ricciardo.