Robert Kubica made a long-awaited F1 return at a private Renault test on Tuesday, boosting the hopes of having him on the F1 grid once again.
Kubica, who has mostly competed in rallying since his huge accident back in 2011, has been working hard to make his return to a single seater racing car possible.
The Pole was one of the most promising drivers back then, having won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix for BMW before joining Renault in 2010, and was constantly linked with moves to leading teams.
Although it was at a private, meaningless test, using a 2012 car, all eyes headed to the track as he completed 115 laps of the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. Afterwards, an emotional Kubica reflected on the bitter/sweet feeling.
"I would like to thank everybody for making this possible, I hope it was a good day for everyone and maybe they saw something of my old, 2010 self," he said.
"For me, it has been an important day from an emotional point of view. It has been a long time away from the paddock and I have been through difficult periods, I kept working hard and a few years ago I felt it was impossible."
Considering what the test meant going forward, he continued: "I have mixed feelings, I am proud with what I achieved, but also it shows what I have lost.
"I don't know what the future will bring, but I know one thing, after working for more than one year to prepare for this, I ran with good pace and consistent in difficult conditions.
"It is not easy after six years, but I knew I could do the job and I can be satisfied.
"I appreciate the opportunity. Renault gave me my first F1 test in 2005, so I appreciate another test this time around."
Renault’s sporting director, Alan Permane, is a long-time member of the Enstone team who worked with Kubica in 2010.
He acknowledged how hard it is to perform such a return and talked about the program that was set for the day mentioning how the Pole performed off the track too.
"It was good to see Robert back in a Formula 1 car," Permane said.
"It was a smooth day. We tried to condense a Grand Prix weekend into one day, which was interesting for him.
"Robert has changed a little, he is mellower and he wasn't as pushy when asking for every detail about the set-up of the car!
"His comments and feedback, however, were like turning the clock back for all of us. It is a tricky thing to jump into an F1 car after six years and it was a great performance from him.
"This was a one-off event for Robert. His time with Renault was cut short so abruptly and we perceived such a nice future with him."
