Robert Kubica revealed that racing – and successful – for AF Corse Ferrari within the World Endurance Championship helped shut the deep emotional wound of his rallying accident, which interrupted his Components 1 profession.
On 6 February 2011, Kubica was collaborating within the Ronde di Andora rally as a part of his extracurricular actions when he endured a extreme crash, which left him with everlasting accidents to his proper arm and leg.
Not solely did the Renault driver have to surrender on that F1 marketing campaign, however unbeknownst on the time was the truth that he had already signed a contract with Ferrari for the 2012 season.
The deal fell by due to the rallying accident, as he spent a 12 months and a half away from racing, and it took a prolonged six years for him to return to motion in an F1 automobile.
Nevertheless, Kubica did race once more on this planet championship in 2019 and briefly in 2021; most significantly, he switched to endurance racing that very same 12 months and went on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2025 with the AF Corse privateer Ferrari 499P, which he shared with Phil Hanson and Ye Yifei.
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Answering Autosport readers’ questions forward of the 2026 version of the French enduro, Kubica was requested how successful Le Mans as a Ferrari driver felt within the context of his unfulfilled Ferrari F1 contract.
“We’ve got to make clear as a result of ultimately I am not a Ferrari driver, I am racing behind the Ferrari 499P wheel, however I am an AF Corse driver,” the Pole replied.
“It’s kind of completely different in fact, it is unattainable to check these days the place ultimately I used to be on the best way to grow to be a Ferrari F1 driver. Nothing to remove from the Hypercar class, however in fact if you end up in Components 1, I feel as a longtime driver there are two issues which I had all the time a aim – hopefully sooner or later changing into world champion or a chance to struggle for it, and second one was to grow to be a Ferrari F1 driver.
“So I did not obtain [either] of them, I used to be on the best way to grow to be a Ferrari F1 driver, sadly due to the accident it did not occur.
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, Philip Hanson
Picture by: Marc Fleury
“For positive you can not examine them, however I’ve to say that one of many the explanation why on the finish of 2023 I made a decision to drive for AF Corse was that… in earlier questions I mentioned I overcame each sort of dangerous recollections I had after my accident; one of many issues which was all the time destabilising myself, or sort of a bit bleeding nonetheless, was that one of many largest regrets in all probability was that I by no means managed to take a seat behind the Ferrari wheel in a F1 automobile.
“In fact there are technical causes however one of many the explanation why I mentioned ‘Sure I’ll go this course with AF Corse’ was that in all probability sooner or later if I might not go I’ll remorse that I had an opportunity to drive a Ferrari automobile in Hypercar and I did not. So this was additionally one of many sort of extra emotional issues than any technical points; in all probability you’ll by no means have this type of considering, however as a result of there was this bleeding factor nonetheless for a few years, this was, to illustrate, my mind-set.”
Now 41 years previous, Kubica completed seventh within the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours alongside his team-mates, with the rostrum eluding them to date this season in a extremely aggressive – albeit controversial amid Steadiness of Efficiency secrecy – World Endurance Championship.
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