Lotus Renault GP name three possible replacements for Robert Kubica – Formula 1 news
Renault team officially has said that they are looking for three names to replace Robert Kubica for at least the first few races of 2011 season, if not all.
Kubica was injured in a car crash on Sunday when he was driving in Ronde di Andora Rally in Italy. He underwent 7 hours of surgery on his right hand which was heavily damaged in the crash. Doctors say that his elbow and knee still need some surgery.
It will be revealed after five days whether the operation was successful enough. Kubica will reportedly take at least three months to recover and a year to be fit to drive again.
Meanwhile rumours were ripe that some other driver will be called up to take the place of Kubica but Renault boss Eric Boullier consistently denied that and now he has announced himself that they are looking for a possible replacement.
Eric said, “We will look for Kubica's substitute: the names considered are (Bruno) Senna, (Vitantonio) Liuzzi and (Nick) Heidfeld.”
Initially the word was that Bruno Senna and Roman Grosjean will be the two competitors for the Renault seat but as the names are revealed now it is very clear that Eric needs some experience in the team. Also, not surprisingly, Kimi Raikkonen is not called.
He further said, “The team is close to Robert, we wait for him with open arms. It was Robert's choice, he wanted to go rallying at all costs and Renault authorized it. Now we just wait to know what the recovery time is for our driver.”
Bruno Senna is already signed by Renault as a reserve driver while Liuzzi has been released recently from Force India’s contract after they hired Scot Paul di Resta. Nick Heidfeld was last year released from Sauber’s contract.
The second test session starts in Jerez tomorrow so Eric needs to hire someone quickly to give the driver some time behind the wheels and to make necessary adjustments if they are really to compete in 2011 season.
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