Why Robert Kubica will make a success of his 2019 Formula 1 comeback

After eight years on the sidelines, and following a miracle recovery, Robert Kubica is once again a Formula 1 racing driver. His signing with the Williams F1 team for the 2019 season following a year as reserve driver certainly proved popular, but raised questions as to whether or not the Pole would be competitive on his comeback.

Let us look back at the accident that nearly claimed his life in 2011. His crash in the Ronde Di Andora Rally in Italy partially severed his right arm, among other injuries, and he slowly faded from the F1 spotlight following that accident yet remained ever popular not just in Poland, but throughout the world. After a year of testing in 2017 with Renault and Williams, he became the latter’s reserve last year before his race driver signing for 2019.

His fitness and strength has been one of the key talking points for many regarding his comeback. Plus, there is the fact that, bar rallying in WRC and WRC2, he hasn’t sat in a fast car, let alone a single seater race car, all that often. This has partly been due to not wanting to get his hopes up of a comeback, and partly thanks to multiple surgeries sometimes putting his recovery back my months at a time.

 But, his tests have shown he has the physical aspect nailed again, and a modified steering wheel and cockpit to accommodate his needs has helped. He claims he is fitter now than when he was back in 2010, when he last raced in F1. That is surely vindication that his fitness, despite his limited use in his right arm, is good enough for modern F1.

The bigger question is really whether or not that time away from the cockpit will still mean he has the speed and racing prowess that he once did. Many think not. But that is not what I believe. For starters, his speed has steadily improved throughout 2017 and 2018 in his tests, and his one lap pace when testing for Renault was reportedly quicker than then race driver Jolyon Palmer, and not a mile off highly rated Nico Hulkenburg.

Williams wanted to evaluate him further, which is why he took a reserve driver for a year when the team chose Russian Sergey Sirotkin over him. But Kubica steadily improved through 2018, being the fastest Williams driver in pre-season testing and faster than race driver Lance Stroll in FP1 in Barcelona. 

The amount of testing he has done, has meant he has more and more knowledge of what a modern hybrid F1 car can do. And when it comes to racing, whilst he might be rusty at first you never lose those natural racing instincts and that race craft you have developed. 

And that is why I believe will make this comeback successful, and keep those doubters silenced. Of course, it is important to understand why there are doubters. There has never really been a comeback like this before, and eight years is a very long time between your last and next race in any racing series, let alone that of Formula 1. Michael Schumacher was only out of Formula 1 for three years before his comeback in 2010 with Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen was also out of F1 for a few years from 2009 to 2012, doing Rally and NASCAR before returning with Lotus in 2012, and winning two races with that team. 

Kubica though has shown the determination to return, and is not simply returning because Williams have waved a big paycheck at him. Moreover, he likely wouldn't return if he didn't himself believe in his potential. He felt he could return at the end of 2017, although has admitted that the year developing in 2018 has helped him massively. Another thing to consider is just how much natural speed Kubica has. Yes, he is alongside the reigning F2 champion George Russel, who quite frankly stamped his authority on F2 this year following his win at Paul Ricard. But even a Kubica at 90% of what he was is still faster than a lot of drivers.

He only really has to match Russel to have proved this comeback was worth it. And should he do well, who knows what could happen? Williams have spoken of Kubica being a part of the team for '2019 and beyond', and it is rumored that one reason Kubica got the nod over Esteban Ocon for a 2019 seat is that Ocon and Mercedes didn't want a deal longer than one year, and Williams didn't want a driver they might lose after one season. Kubica was someone who knew their car, and would happily stay beyond 2019 so it has been suggested he has a two year deal. Should this next year, maybe two, work out, could he move up the grid? The chance is there for it to happen.

At the end of the day, the fact he is making this comeback at all, is truly remarkable. Had he not achieved his goal of racing in F1 again, he still would have achieved something that many thought was simply impossible even just a couple of years ago. Now though, he is on the brink of perhaps one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time. And he will make a success of it. That I am sure.