06/06/2017
NEWS STORY
Following days of media speculation, Grand Prix winner Robert Kubica took to the Valencia track today in what has been described as a private test.
The Pole, whose F1 career was brought to a shock end when he crashed in a rally in Italy ahead of the 2011 season, has made no secret of his desire to return to the grid, and while he enjoyed a successful foray in the WRC, such a return never seemed possible.
However, as the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner pounded the Ricardo Tormo track today, Renault, which organised the test, added to the mystery surrounding the outing.
"So guys... we need to come clean about something..." read the first in a series of Tweets from the French team. "It's true. It really is Robert Kubica. Back in one of our cars after six years.
"So why did we keep it quiet? It was a private test, for Robert," the Tweets continued. "But we can tell you this... Robert complained about grip, understeer, downforce and had the biggest smile on after his 115 laps!!"
At the time of his 2011 crash, which came days after he had topped the timesheets in pre-season testing, Kubica was rightly considered one of the sport's brightest stars, a driver's driver, a racer the likes of Fernando Alonso looked up to.
Quite why Kubica took part in the test, which saw him at the wheel of the 2012 Lotus E20, is unclear, and despite speculation in some quarter it is highly unlikely that the 32-year-old could make a return to the sport.
The test comes days ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, which the Pole won in 2008, and which followed his horrific accident at the same circuit just twelve months earlier.
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