Kubica defies the odds as he completes remarkable return to F1

● ‘This shows nothing is impossible’ says Pole after securing Williams drive for 2019

Before a piece of Armco barrier ripped through his Skoda Fabia during a rally in Andorra almost destroying his right arm Robert Kubica was Formula One royalty and Ferrari bound. Ask Lewis Hamilton who he thought would be the next big thing in F1 when he came through a decade ago, it was the flying Pole from Krakow, the quickest driver Hamilton faced in junior formulae.

The destiny that might have been his has gone. His return to F1 at 33 with Williams is a gift for him and us, and a reward for perseverance in the face of mountainous odds. The career goal is no longer to rule the world but be a legitimate part of it. The crash in February 2011 was thought to be career-ending, leaving him with a partly severed right arm. That he is able to drive at all is a wonder. That he is back contesting grands prix is one of the great F1 stories.

He showed his readiness in a test for Renault in the summer of 2017 and came close to a race seat with Williams a year ago before losing out to Sergey Sirotkin. Whether it was talent or the rubles that came with Sirotkin that was decisive then is a moot point now. Sirotkin’s backer, Russian oligarch Boris Rotenberg, is following his driver out of the door. There is clearly enough PR power in Kubica’s incredible return for Williamstomakethenumbers work.

Williams unveiled Kubica at the final grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi, where he will test the car in today’s first practice and where he contested his last F1 race eight years ago for Lotus. “It’s a story which probably nobody has believed and the only one who didn’t give up was probably me – and people who are around me,” Kubica said.

“We all knew it might be something not achievable but this day shows that somehow nothing is impossible. A lot of things have had to come together and a lot of work, not only from my side. From a driving point of view, it’s very simple – you just have to wait a couple of months to see.

“If I wasn’t able to drive competitively enough I would not be here. It’s a normal way of thinking that people see my limitations and they are asking, can I do it? I know it’s hard to believe, but Williams have

0 Robert Kubica in Abu Dhabi yesterday at his unveiling as a Williams F1 driver for the 2019 season.

seen it this year, and I have seen it in the last 18 months, that I can do it. My limitations are not limiting me like most people are thinking.”

Since Williams sit last in the constructors’ table there can be only an upside to this story. Indeed as far as there is any element of risk associated with Kubica’s return it reconnects Williams to its past, to the spirit of enterprise that saw the team evolve from its garagista roots in a lock-up in Harrow to one of the great grand prix marques. At least these days Kubica will not have to kip on the sofa.

0 Kubica’s wrecked Skoda Fabia after his rally crash in 2011.