Talk:Robert Kubica

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Pronounciation[edit]

I don't have a citation, but on ITV F1 coverage Kubica himself has said it's "Koo-Bits-Ah".


I know that Kubica's surname isn't pronunced like "Koo-Bic-Ah"...it's more like "Koo-Bits-Ah" isn't it? So in that pronounciation thing, shouldn't it be: ɹɒbət kuːbɪsæ? --Skully Collins Review Me! Please? 08:56, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'd say koo-bee-tsah, stress on the "bee". --Lysytalk 09:01, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(Thanks for the quick reply ;-) )...okay and how do look like in that pronouciation thing? --Skully Collins Review Me! Please? 10:42, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the notation. --Lysytalk 11:19, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I put the pronunciation in IPA notation in the article. It's ['robɛrt ku'biʦa]. Kpalion 11:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]


The pronunciation of his name is definitely NOT "robɛrt". It should be "robert" or "robərt" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jakas1 (talkcontribs)

In Polish stress is always on the penultimate syllable, including proper names, unless the word or name is borrowed from another language. koo-BEE-tsa therefore would be close, as Lysy pointed out, and since Robert was born in Krakow I imagine that he uses the Polish pronunciation. (Czech would have the accent on the first syllable.) And I believe "robɛrt" is correct. East Slavic esp. Russian uses the schwa but not, I believe, Polish, and "e" as in "robert" is not, at least I don't believe, the IPA transcription of the Polish vowel. Skagerak 18:45, 11 June 2007 (UTC)Skagerak[reply]

I heard one of the commentators on UK television say that the driver wanted his last name to be pronounced "Koo-Bic-Ah" rather than "Koo-Bits-Ah" (as the commentators had previously been pronouncing it) for a reason given by the driver, that reason being: "it sounds quicker". Jw6aa 01:38, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, he was third in Monza ;) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.233.191.34 (talkcontribs)


Crash[edit]

Status unknow at the moment. He hit the hairpin in the Canadian Grand Prix. I hope he's ok.

Lap 43 "Kubica's manager has spoken to his driver and reports he is okay and able to move his arms and legs normally" per official Formula One live timing and scoring. DarkAudit 18:10, 10 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
He will be transferred by helicopter to a Montreal hospital within the next few minutes. DarkAudit 18:13, 10 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Robert broke his leg -->seven+one 18:59, 10 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Did he definitely clipped the parked car, as mentioned in the article? The ITV (UK) commentators noted that he didn't --MartinUK 22:30, 10 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Watching video replay and photographs shows to me that the Toro Rosso was actually completely behind the wall. See [1] The359 00:54, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I know... I took that out several times and people keep putting it back. People should actually watch video before they click on that "Edit this page" tab. Shreditor 02:58, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Sources now say Robert did NOT break his leg, but, on the contrary, escaped without real injury. See www.itv.com/f1. Lradrama 09:32, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Pole in Pole at Bahrain, 2008[edit]

As the onli Pole ever to race in F1 this makes him the onli Pole to have got Pole...lol--Sauber F1 fan since 1997 (talk) 18:27, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Re. 2009[edit]

Sorry, but is this level of detail really necessary? I propose that we just change this to "crashed into a wall at the next corner," and move on. If you ask me, little details like this are just unnecessarily tedious. I thought sections like these were just to give a brief overview of what happened in the season, I didn't realise they were meant to serve as a blow-by-blow analysis. Surely that section would be better off in the actual race report article. Ayrton Prostsign 11:49, 13 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I added that because it originally said that he lost downforce because of a damaged front wing, or something equally erroneous and woolly as that. I do agree with you that the level of detail here at times can be a little excessive, but if he crashed, it's probably important to emphasise that he didn't crash due to his own error, rather that he lost steering due to his wing getting stuck under his car. Bretonbanquet (talk) 11:53, 13 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough, that's a valid enough point. Ayrton Prostsign 14:07, 13 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In 2006, Kubica became the official reserve driver for the BMW Sauber Formula One team.[2] His results in both Friday testing and private test sessions, along with the words of BMW Sauber's manager Mario Theissen, led to speculation that he would become Poland's first ever Formula One racing driver in 2007. In August 2006, Kubica's teammate, Jacques Villeneuve, complained about headaches after his accident during the German Grand Prix; he was deemed unfit to race by the team, against his own belief, and Kubica was chosen by the team management to replace him at the Hungarian Grand Prix.[3] Kubica qualified ninth, beating his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld. In the race, he finished in seventh place, but was disqualified after the race for having an underweight car.[4] Villeneuve decided to leave the BMW Sauber team soon after the race,[5] and Kubica's position in the team for the remainder of the season was confirmed by BMW.[6]


Kubica as BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 United States Grand PrixKubica had a more disappointing race at the Turkish Grand Prix, finishing in 12th place after a mistake in tyre choice. Heidfeld, who was delayed in a first-corner accident, placed behind Kubica. In his third race, the Italian Grand Prix, Kubica finished in third position, and became the first Polish driver to appear on a Formula One podium, as well as the first Polish driver to lead a Grand Prix. He was the first driver since Villeneuve in 1996 to finish on the podium within his first three Formula One starts.

In China, he finished 13th, again after a mistake in tyre choice. After going off track at the first turn of the race, he moved from 17th position to fifth, before pitting. He was the first to change from intermediate tyres to dry tyres after the wet track started to dry. This decision was made too early: a very slow next lap in extremely wet and slippery conditions and another pit stop to change back to intermediates cost him his place in the points.

[edit] 2007

Kubica's violent crash at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix Kubica driving for BMW Sauber at the 2007 British Grand PrixKubica performed well during the 2007 season, finishing consistently in point scoring positions. At the Canadian Grand Prix Kubica had a serious crash approaching the hairpin on lap 27, in which his car made contact with Jarno Trulli's Toyota, and hit a hump in the grass which lifted the car's nose into the air and left him unable to brake or steer. The car then rolled as it came back across the track, striking the wall on the outside of the hairpin and coming to rest on its side.[7] The speed measured when his car clipped the barrier was 300.13 km/h (186.49 mph), at a 75 degree angle, subjecting Kubica to an average deceleration of 28g. After data from the onboard accident data recorder had been analysed it was found that he had been subjected to a peak G-force of 75 G.[8] Under safety car conditions, Kubica was removed from the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre, where he was announced to be "stable", although no information regarding potential injuries was known at this time. Shortly afterwards, his manager Daniele Morelli said Kubica was conscious and talking.[9] It was initially reported that Kubica could have a broken leg.[10] However, Mario Theissen later confirmed that he was not seriously injured.[11][12]

Further reports from late evening on race day, directly from the hospital, confirmed that Kubica had suffered a light concussion alongside a sprained ankle. After being kept in overnight for observation, Kubica left hospital the following day.[13] On 14 June it was announced that as a precaution, Kubica would not race at the United States Grand Prix and would be replaced by test driver Sebastian Vettel.[14] After missing Indianapolis, he returned for the French Grand Prix where he qualified and finished in fourth place, receiving ITV broadcaster Martin Brundle's driver of the day award. He then went on to finish fourth again at the British Grand Prix.

[edit] 2008 Kubica's retention as race driver for 2008 was confirmed on 21 August 2007.[15] Over the first half of the season, Kubica qualified and finished strongly, including his and BMW Sauber's first pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix and second place finishes at the Malaysian and Monaco Grands Prix.


Kubica achieved the first win of his F1 career at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.On 8 June 2008 at the Canadian Grand Prix, Kubica achieved his first Formula 1 victory. He started second on the grid and passed race leader Lewis Hamilton in the first round of pitstops after the BMW Sauber pit crew completed a faster pitstop. On leaving the pits, Kubica and Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari halted at the pit lane exit, waiting for the red pit exit light to change. Hamilton, running immediately behind them, missed the light and crashed into Räikkönen's Ferrari, eliminating both cars from the race. Kubica rejoined the race well positioned for the eventual victory. He passed Heidfeld's sister BMW Sauber, running one refuelling stop to Kubica's two stop strategy, and gained the necessary 24 seconds over Heidfeld to ensure that he maintained the lead after his second stop 22 laps later. The BMW Saubers remained first and second to the end of the race.[16] Kubica later joked that he should thank Hamilton for electing to crash into Räikkönen instead of him.[17] The win gave Kubica the lead in the drivers' championship.

BMW Sauber's results were weaker over the second half of the season. At the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, Kubica finished 5th, reporting that this was a lost race, complaining about aerodynamic problems with the car.[citation needed] Kubica's strongest result of the latter part of the year was in Japan where he qualified sixth. At the start, several drivers braked too late for the first corner. Kubica took an inside line overtaking several cars and emerged in the lead. He led for 16 laps, but lost his lead to Fernando Alonso at the first round of pit stops. Kubica finished second after defending his position towards the end of the race against Räikkönen in a faster Ferrari (his fastest race lap was 0.6 seconds quicker than the Pole's)[18][19] Apart from that, Kubica achieved podiums in the Street race in Valencia and in the rain affected race at Monza. Kubica finished the year fourth in the drivers' championship.

[edit] 2009

Kubica driving for BMW Sauber at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix.At the 2009 season opener in Melbourne, Kubica managed to qualify fourth on the grid. During the race, he was in third place and closing the gap to the front two cars before making contact with Sebastian Vettel while trying to overtake him. After the incident, Kubica continued briefly, but crashed into a wall at the next corner because his front wing had become stuck under the car.[20] Vettel was later deemed responsible for the accident, and given a 10-place penalty on the grid for the next race in Malaysia. [21]

BMW motorsport director, Mario Theissen, claimed that Kubica would have won the race ahead of Jenson Button had it not been for Vettel.[22]


Kubica at the 2009 British Grand Prix.At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Kubica qualified in eighth place, but was promoted to sixth following Vettel's ten-place grid penalty for causing the crash in Australia, and Rubens Barrichello's five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox. However, he retired very early in the race with engine problems. The next two races, the Chinese Grand Prix and the Bahrain Grand Prix were disappointing for the BMW Sauber team as both Kubica and his teammate Heidfeld finished outside the points with a non-competitive car. For the next race in Barcelona, BMW Sauber prepared a modified version of the F1.09. The car proved more competitive but a mistake in fitting the tyres to Kubica's car during Q3 meant he could only qualify in 10th position. In the race, after a bad start (due to a clutch issue)[23] he finished once more out of the points. Kubica suffered from an engine failure during second practice in Monaco, and retired from the Grand Prix due to a brake issue. At the Turkish Grand Prix, the team introduced the double diffuser. The car's performance improved and Kubica managed to score his first points of the season with a 7th place. In the next 3 races both BMW Sauber drivers finished outside the points again, but during the European and Belgian Grands Prix again proved to be competitive, scoring 8th and 4th positions respectively. In Italy, Kubica suffered engine trouble in qualifying and then retired from the race due to mechanical failure. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Kubica finished 8th, defending his position from Kazuki Nakajima and Räikkönen in the last laps. He later stated it was "the most difficult point I have ever scored".[24][25] At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Kubica scored his first podium of the season despite engine coolant problems by finishing in 2nd place, 7.6 seconds behind winner Mark Webber. The podium was BMW's second of the season.

On 29 July 2009, BMW announced they will leave Formula One at the end of 2009, making Kubica a free agent for the 2010 season. [26][27] For the 2010 season, it has been announced that he has signed for Renault F1, the team he tested during his junior career.[28] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.11.197.201 (talk) 12:12, 3 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

World Series by Renault[edit]

In 2005 Robert Kubica won the World Series by Renault as is verifyable in RS: [2], [3]. I request Cs-wolves and EeepEeep to stop pushing their original research into the article.  Dr. Loosmark  11:12, 20 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Are you familiar with the World Series by Renault at all? It is a group of series, not an individual series. The top series, Formula Renault 3.5 Series, which Kubica was the champion of, is often refereed to in the press as simply the World Series by Renault, but that doesn't make it true. If some media outlets reported that Dario Franchitti won the IRL championship instead of the IndyCar championship would you insist on changing it? Reporting the correct thing is not original research, it is good editing. Simply regurgitating something without giving it any consideration is poor editing. EeepEeep (talk) 18:14, 20 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
No, poor editing is pushing personal opinion without a single sources supporting it. Valentino Rossi is too refereed as the MotoGp world champion even if the MotoGP racing is composed of 3 classes the 125, 250 and 800.  Dr. Loosmark  21:39, 20 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
How is this about "personal opinion"? I'm confused. Formula Renault 3.5 Series is a class in the World Series by Renault. That's a fact, not an opinion. Your example just further demonstrates how the press muddles these things sometimes. EeepEeep (talk) 05:53, 21 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I take that back, your example makes no sense. MotoGP is specifically the name of the 500cc class (not 800cc), so that would be correct. EeepEeep (talk) 05:58, 21 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Formula Renault 3.5 Series is the most important class in the World Series by Renault by far and in fact it is usually referred to as the World Series by Renault. This is why most if not all the sources say Kubica won the World Series.  Dr. Loosmark  06:14, 21 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request from Mattsonic, 16 May 2010[edit]

{{editsemiprotected}} edit 2010season

Mattsonic (talk) 22:14, 16 May 2010 (UTC) edit[reply]

You need to tell precisely what you want changed and why.—Kww(talk) 22:22, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Kubica Injury[edit]

I have reverted edits describing his chances of missing this season as "likely" and "highly likely". Tonight (the day of the accident) the surgeon in the source says that he thinks recovery will take a year but that racing drivers sometimes heal more quickly than expected. This indicates to me at least that Kubica missing the whole season is more possible than likely. I await more precise information. Britmax (talk) 23:34, 6 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sub Amputation[edit]

I have reverted a reference to this as people will see the word amputation and assume it is full amputation. Not that we should avoid the truth but I think it's too much detail for us as an encyclopedia, not a medical update service, anyway. I think we should, by staying with an accurate but general description of his injuries, avoid the A-word altogether. Britmax (talk) 19:10, 9 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Since there was another revert of my addition, let me state that it was mentioned in several reliable sources as "partially severed" or "sub-amputation". It was also the single most important injury, since there were arteries and tendons severed and there was grave danger that doctors would need to fully amputate his forearm (again all this backed by reliable sources). Removing it completely and retaining the lesser wounds (fractures etc) does not make sense. I'm open to rephrasing as anyone sees fit, but please don't remove the entire reference. --Ferengi (talk) 11:09, 17 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Still signed with Lotus?[edit]

Just out of curiocity, is Kubica still signed with Lotus? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.128.245.11 (talk) 07:20, 3 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No he is not. Source: http://sidepodcast.com/feature/talk-on-corners/return-to-pole-if-kubica-makes-return-where-will-he-be — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.44.85.23 (talk) 20:12, 1 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

B-class review[edit]

Failed for WPPOLAND due to insufficient density of inline refs. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 11:46, 10 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2017 Renault testing[edit]

As Kubica has now participated in an official F1 test session (rather than private testing in old cars) I believe that this qualifies him to have a line added to his career summary as a Renault test driver. It is irrelevant if he maintains his position for the rest of the year, or if his position is officially recognized as the team's official test driver. He has participated in an official test session, and therefore his career summary should reflect this.Wesutf1 (talk) 09:26, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Where is the press release from the Renault team, which says that Kubica is their test driver? A 4-day test (or any test for that matter) does not mean that he is their test driver. – Sabbatino (talk) 12:52, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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