Former BMW driver Robert Kubica will turn his first laps in a Formula 1 car in six years on Tuesday, driving a 2012 Lotus in Valencia.
The Pole, who won his only race in Canada, the venue for this weekend’s Grand Prix, nine years ago, saw his promising career ended prematurely prior to the 2011 season after sustaining severe arm injuries in a crash while rallying in Italy.
After recovering, Kubica then focused on rallying with stints in the ERC and WRC but, in the past year, has been looking to return to circuit racing. He competed in a Renault event at Spa-Francorchamps last summer, tested a GP3 and Formula E machine earlier this year and was linked with a seat at the ByKolles team in WEC’s LMP1 category until he pulled out prior to the first race of the season at Silverstone.
He has always remained loosely connected with what is now the Renault team – which was Lotus when he competed for them in 2010 – and participated in a Renault Sport Trophy event at Spa-Francorchamps last September.
Since he has tested a GP3 and Formula E car earlier this year and was linked with a seat at the ByKolles team in WEC’s LMP1 category until he pulled out prior to the first race of the season at Silverstone.
On Tuesday, he will be running alongside Renault development driver Sergey Sirotkin at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Spain in the chassis that Kimi Raikkonen took to victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix five years ago.