Renault owner Gerard Lopez says Robert Kubica not expected to return in 2011 Formula 1 season
Renault team owner Gerard Lopez has said that their injured driver Robert Kubica is not expected to return to the Formula 1 grid in the ongoing 2011 season.
Lopez though added that Kubica might get to test in a Friday practice session at some point during the season if he recovers in time. However, he said he was unsure if the Pole will be fit enough to race again during 2011.
The injured Renault driver is still under a rehabilitation process at his home, following a horrific rally crash just before the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season. The rally accident left Kubica with several serious injuries including a partially severed
right shoulder and arm.
The team owner added that it is still too early to predict Kubica’s return to the sport. He said, “Robert has survived a spectacular accident and now comes the most difficult part, which is to recover fully, something that no one, not himself, not the doctors,
not ourselves, knows if he will achieve.”
On the other hand, he discussed both drivers’ performance in the ongoing season. He added that Vitaly Petrov’s qualifying round result in the recent Spanish Grand Prix has shown that their car R31 had a great potential that was not being realised in the
first four races of the season.
Lopez said, “In qualifying [in Spain], Vitaly lost sixth tenths in the second sector because of a problem with the gearbox, otherwise he would have been in third. And for Vitaly, who is nearly a rookie, to finish third [on the grid] in Barcelona means that
the car has the potential to do a lot more.”
He admitted that both the drivers, Petrov and Nick Heidfeld had a good start in this season, but for the remaining term, they are hoping for podium finishes. He also added that the team was hoping to finish the 2011 constructors’ championship in third or
fourth place.
The next race of the 2011 season, the Monaco Grand Prix will take place on May 29, 2011.
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