revealed that racing – and profitable – for AF Corse within the World Endurance Championship helped shut the deep emotional wound of his rallying accident, which interrupted his Method 1 profession.
On 6 February 2011, Kubica was participating 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.
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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 means of due to the rallying accident, as he spent a yr 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 yr and went on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2025 with the AF Corse privateer Ferrari 499P, which he shared with and .
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Answering Autosport readers’ questions forward of the 2026 version of the French enduro, Kubica was requested how profitable Le Mans as a Ferrari driver felt within the context of his unfulfilled Ferrari F1 contract.
“We’ve to make clear as a result of in the long run 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 after all, it is unattainable to check these days the place in the long run I used to be on the way in which to turn into a Ferrari F1 driver. Nothing to remove from the Hypercar class, however after all when you’re in Method 1, I believe as a longtime driver there are two issues which I had all the time a aim – hopefully in the future turning into world champion or a chance to combat for it, and second one was to turn into a Ferrari F1 driver.
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“So I did not obtain [either] of them, I used to be on the way in which to turn into a Ferrari F1 driver, sadly due to the accident it did not occur.
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, Philip Hanson
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, Philip Hanson
“For positive you can’t 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 stated I overcame each form of dangerous recollections I had after my accident; one of many issues which was all the time destabilising myself, or form of a bit bleeding nonetheless, was that one of many largest regrets most likely was that I by no means managed to take a seat behind the Ferrari wheel in a F1 automobile.
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“After all there are technical causes however one of many the explanation why I stated ‘Sure I’ll go this path with AF Corse’ was that most likely sooner or later if I’d 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 form of extra emotional issues than any technical points; most likely you’ll by no means have this sort of pondering, 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 thus far this season in a extremely aggressive – albeit controversial amid Steadiness of Efficiency secrecy – World Endurance Championship.
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