491 replies to this topic

[wingwalker]

I still fear that not being capable of wrapping the thumb around the wheel (it's appareant how much it sticks out compared to normal position) is going to cost some time in a hot lap, but who cares, we'll find out in march.

In an interview I saw (for Polish channel Eleven I thnk) he had this intensive, focused look in his eyes he had back in F1 days and he seemed to be totally confident in his capabilities .

[Sixpounder]

I've just seen fragment of RK's interview for Polish radio RMF. Three things caught only:
- Robert praised a lot George Russell for high intelligence and work ethic.
- He cut off all links to Polish politics. Obviously there are some, but he never commented it deeper. He is sportsman, therefore not eager to talk much beyond sport/technical area.
- When asked about his main challenges in 2019, specifically if turns of Monaco will be most demanding "peaks"... he just smiled and said: it will be not challanging him much. There will be more difficult things in 2019. No worries about Monaco and similar tracks.

[wingwalker]

The Monaco bit went as follows:

- So ,the famous Monte Carlo (yeaaah) circuit has a tight hairpin, you gotta work the wheel pretty hard there
RK <instantly>: Yes.

- Is this going to be a challenge for you?
RK: <insantly>: No.

Then he added there are numerous things more challenging in F1 than that turn. As I said above, he seems to be 100% confident in what he capable of.

[Squeed]

The Monaco bit went as follows:
- So ,the famous Monte Carlo (yeaaah) circuit has a tight hairpin, you gotta work the wheel pretty hard there
RK <instantly>: Yes.
- Is this going to be a challenge for you?
RK: <insantly>: No.
Then he added there are numerous things more challenging in F1 than that turn. As I said above, he seems to be 100% confident in what he capable of.

They couldn’t be doing more than 30kph through that hairpin, I don’t see how that would be particularly challenging no matter what the disability.

[PedroDiCasttro]

Has he already announced what number he's gonna use next year on the car?

[Muppetmad]

88.

[Clatter]

They couldn’t be doing more than 30kph through that hairpin, I don’t see how that would be particularly challenging no matter what the disability.

Kubica himself said he couldn't drive monaco back in 2013. His injury and the close confines of the cockpit was the problem, not the speed.
https://www.google.c...est-return/amp/

[alphanumeric]

Kubica himself said he couldn't drive monaco back in 2013. His injury and the close confines of the cockpit was the problem, not the speed.
https://www.google.c...est-return/amp/

Yes, he said, in 2013 "I still don't have enough mobility in my right arm (for F1)," admitted Kubica. "There's still a long way to go and not everything depends on me. I would not be in perfect physical shape to race in F1,"

 

That was some years ago, we're now near the end of 2018, healing, time and "a long way to go" seems to be about 5 yrs in his judgement. We'll know early doors '19 who's right.

Edited by alphanumeric, 19 December 2018 - 22:18.

[Squeed]

Kubica himself said he couldn't drive monaco back in 2013. His injury and the close confines of the cockpit was the problem, not the speed. https://www.google.c...est-return/amp/

Right, but he can move his arm now; and at such slow speeds, precision and timing with steering input aren’t very important relative to the hitting braking point entering the turn.

I would have to believe that there will be dozens of more challenging turns for him on the tour next year. Why people keep pointing out a turn that virtually anyone could navigate one-handed is a head scratcher.

Edited by Squeed, 19 December 2018 - 23:46.

[Clatter]

Right, but he can move his arm now; and at such slow speeds, precision and timing with steering input aren’t very important relative to the hitting braking point entering the turn.

I would have to believe that there will be dozens of more challenging turns for him on the tour next year. Why people keep pointing out a turn that virtually anyone could navigate one-handed is a head scratcher.

Because its the turn he himself highlighted as an issue. Not the high-speed corners, but the slowest of the season. It may not be a problem now, but it was before, and shows why your statement is incorrect.

[szym3k]

Keep in mind the cars have changed significantly since 2013. 

[Squeed]

Because its the turn he himself highlighted as an issue. Not the high-speed corners, but the slowest of the season. It may not be a problem now, but it was before, and shows why your statement is incorrect.

It was a problem when he couldn’t move his arm. He can move his arm now, so range of motion is not the issue, but strength under extreme G’s might be I would assume.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding your point, but my read is you arguing that because he had a mobility problem with his injured arm in the past, mobility issues may impact his ability in the present.

Edited by Squeed, 20 December 2018 - 02:18.

[wingwalker]

Keep in mind the cars have changed significantly since 2013. 

Well what tests in F1 2012 car initiated his comeback so I don't think it's about the cars. I  guess* he had more surgeries over the years and he is now capable of operating the wheel in an F1 cockpit even in tight hairpins (even though he uses an unusual grip) which wasn't possible before, maybe because he had to stick his elbow far more to the side in 2012/13ish. I had the impression he has more mobility in his arm when I saw videos of him in 2017 than he had a year/two post-crash, but I didn't go back to 2011/2012 videos to confirm so it entirely possible it was just an impression.



*BTW, I remember him having surgeries post accident and then during the winter when he broke his leg, but do we know for sure about surgeries after that or are those all rumours, and how believable are those rumours are?
 

Edited by wingwalker, 20 December 2018 - 08:57.

[tghik]

I don't care if he loses a bit of time on 1 particular track as long as he has the speed over 95% of remaining circuits. He is not in a WDC fight

[Clatter]

It was a problem when he couldn’t move his arm. He can move his arm now, so range of motion is not the issue, but strength under extreme G’s might be I would assume.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding your point, but my read is you arguing that because he had a mobility problem with his injured arm in the past, mobility issues may impact his ability in the present.

No, I'm referring to your earlier post where you said you couldn't understand how the slowest corner could be a problem for anyone, no matter what injury they had.

[Muppetmad]

Clatter's point is entirely reasonable: Robert said in the past that the Lowes hairpin would have been a problem for him, so it's right to focus on that now. In any case, Williams would never have signed him without clear evidence of his ability to tackle corners like that.

[MaGiK]

Non issue. We allready saw how hes doing in left hairpins.
Actually when you look at some of Nico Rosbergs onboards youll see that he takes Lowes exactly the same way as RK :-)

[Gemini]

Williams will install handbrake in RK's car, so he can negotiate Loews rally style 

[Squeed]

No, I'm referring to your earlier post where you said you couldn't understand how the slowest corner could be a problem for anyone, no matter what injury they had.

fair point, i was sort of speaking out of both sides of my mouth there.

[RA2]

Nigel Mansel being a big guy used a smaller steering wheel than other drivers. Are current steering wheels larger than Mansel's ?

 

Will a smaller steering wheel help Kubica? 

[Clatter]

Nigel Mansel being a big guy used a smaller steering wheel than other drivers. Are current steering wheels larger than Mansel's ?

Will a smaller steering wheel help Kubica?

Did he? Don't think I've heard that before.

[RA2]

https://www.motorspo...-2018-nominee-0

[absinthedude]

As the linked article says, Nigel Mansell's upper body strength (possibly greater than any other driver's of his era) allowed him to use a smaller steering wheel than any of his competitors and to hustle the car into corners in a manner none other could. It's well documented and was known at the time.

 

I don't know if a smaller wheel would help Kubica because with Mansell it was used due to his great upper body strength and arm muscles. Kubica doesn't have that in his right arm, but F1 cars have power steering these days so it's less important. Maybe the smaller wheel allows him a bit more space? 

 

Back in 2013 he did say he would have struggled at tracks like Monaco with tight hairpins. More recently, perhaps 2016, he's said that simulator tests made him realise that's no longer a problem. A few years of recovery and more surgery have no doubt helped.

 

While he won't ever have the strength of others in his right arm nor the dexterity in his hand/fingers, I doubt he'd work so hard for this comeback if he wasn't confident he can still deliver. What I really hope is that the Williams is good enough to allow him and Russell to show their stuff. If it's even as competitive as the Sauber was this year, that's enough though I hope for more. It will be good to see if there are any tracks where Kubica struggles or if he's consistent throughout the season. And seeing him on the podium would be a tear jerker.

[RA2]

There was another article where Mclaren found Mansell's requirement for a smaller steering wheel silly in 1995

[SpeedRacer`]

I'm sure in one of the early Renault test (I think the second one, before Hungary) they organised some artificial hairpins with cones and got him to drive up and down going through them. There was no issue.

[RA2]

Not about if he can take a hairpin, it is about what team can do to get him more comfortable so that the right hand is less of an issue

[Rydo]

Robert will be fine. He will have some races he will find tougher than other but overall I don't expect the matter with his hand to cause him too much problems. He will simply deal with them. Johnny Herbert was in a similar position after his crash. He wrote in his book that he had tears in his eyes at times trying to brake but he just carried on. Its an excellent read for anyone who hasn't read it.

[cravenciak]

 

This is really disturbing 

[GiorgioF1]

I dont think he will do any rallies in 2019 Surely he has that clause in his contract this time.

[SebMat]

Talking about clauses IMO first question schould be what is a Williams-Orlen deal clause for case when RK would be not capable to drive (for any reason). My pov is that Williams needs more RK's money then himself, so if Orlen will pay all money even with injured RK there is no rally ban clase in Williams-Robert contract.

[thuGG]

If he wouldn't be capable to drive he wouldn't be signed.

[Beri]

Youre not reading what SebMat is saying.

[MadYarpen]

Id be very surprised if he went rallying. Other than some monza rally show etc

[BRG]

Id be very surprised if he went rallying. Other than some monza rally show etc

Has he even done any rally since he faded out of the WRC?

[Myrvold]

Has he even done any rally since he faded out of the WRC?

I seem to recall him doing a rally or two in a Clio after his last Monte.

[SebMat]

As far I remember it was Rally Coppa Città di Lucca 2016. Clio S1600

[sniper80]

There's so much in the 2019 F1 season to look forward to. I really hope it lives up to the expectation. But the return of Robert Kubica is among the top of my list. If Williams is able to put a decent car under him, we might be in for some surprises.

Kubica sure is experienced, well-trained, no-nonsense & an absolute nut in pushing the engineering team.

[cravenciak]

Ben Howard (Williams' chief mechanic) to lead a team of six people that will work on Kubica's car next season. 

 

 

And a nice treat for simracing fans, over 2 hours with Robert in iRacing:

 

[cravenciak]

Williams, Orlen and Kubica will make a press conference this tuesday in Warsaw. Team from Grove will bring a showcar with new livery on it.

[MaGiK]

Heres a full interview from Barcelona.

[DrProzac]

Nice article about Kubica on F1's official stie. Including many interesting quotes from Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli.
 

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.robert-kubica-2-0-why-injury-won't-hold-him-back-in-2019.3sQ67HSWzWqrVXKFqDV2WK.html

Apparently this forum won't manage to make a proper link for this web address, so you'll have to copy it to your browser. Currently it's on the main page though. Probably due to not being able to escape the ' character correctly.

Edited by DrProzac, 04 March 2019 - 21:42.