Robert Kubica

Interesting facts

His father bought him a small petrol-powered off-road vehicle when he was four; he began competitive karting at ten, won six Polish titles in three years, and in 1998 became the first non-Italian ever to win the Italian junior karting championship. He made his F1 debut at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, stepping in for an injured Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber, and finished third at that year's Italian Grand Prix - the first Polish driver ever to stand on an F1 podium. At the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix he collided with Jarno Trulli and slammed into a concrete wall at 300 km/h at a 75-degree angle, registering a peak impact of 75 g, yet walked away with only a mild concussion and a sprained ankle. On February 6, 2011, a crash barrier pierced the cockpit of his rally car at the Ronde di Andora in Italy, partially severing his forearm and fracturing his elbow, shoulder and leg; a seven-hour operation followed and he missed almost the entire 2011 F1 season recovering. Eight years after the accident he returned to F1 as a full-time Williams driver in 2019, then went on to win the 2023 WEC LMP2 championship and the outright 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye. Robert Kubica made his Formula 1 debut in 2006 and raced until 2021, 7 seasons in total as a Polish driver. He scored a total of 274 championship points over his career. His best season was 2008, when he finished 4th in the championship with 75 points.