Robert Kubica's F1 Racing Career in Limbo After Rally Car Crash

Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Competing in the Ronda de Andora Rally in Italy, Formula 1 regular driver for Lotus Renault GP Robert Kubica suffered a frightening worst case scenario accident. Early Sunday, his DP Autosport Skoda collided at high-speed with a wall just 5 kilometers after starting the race's first stage. Due to the severity of the wreck, the need to exercise care extracting the driver safely and a 55-kilometer transportation distance, Kubica's arrival at the Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure took a total of 2 hours.

 According to some media reports, doctors were at one time considering amputation of the right hand. However, after quick examination, physicians did not need to resort to this action on Kubica's hand. With multiple fractures to the Formula 1 winning driver's right hand and leg that includes a deep cut to his forearm, a 7-hour operation was required. By late Sunday, the recovering 27-year old Robert Kubica has been placed into an induced coma until Monday morning as he rests in stable but serious condition overnight.

An update on Kubica's condition is expected to be held 9:30 AM local time at the Santa Corona Hospital. Robert Kubica's manager Daniel Morelli and the Director for the Regional Centre of Hand Surgery Professor Mario Igor Rossello will be present to announce the latest on the Formula 1 driver's prognosis.

With Robert Kubica fortunately surviving the rally car crash, the driver's participation in the 2011 Formula 1 season for Lotus Renault GP is highly doubtful. Awaiting more information on Kubica's recovery, the Lotus Renault GP team thoughts are with their injured race car pilot. Team Principal and Managing Director Eric Boullier said within a statement Sunday “The news of Robert’s accident came as a real shock to the whole team. All of us, at Lotus Renault GP, wish him a quick recovery. We have been really impressed with the way the doctors looked after him today and we would like to thank the whole team of the Santa Corona Hospital for their professional approach and dedication". Several members of the Lotus Renault GP organization including Boullier and Formula 1 teammate Vitaly Petrov.

With a long recovery predicted for Robert Kubica to potentially regain use of his right hand, Lotus Renault GP plans for the upcoming 2011 Formula 1 season will need to be revised. Proving to have top speed with Kubica just 3 days prior at Valencia, Spain test, the team will have to promote one of their reserve drivers to the Type 125 race car's seat for Bahrain in March. Having just signed Bruno Senna, strong indications has the young Brazilian driver rejoining the Formula 1 race grid for 2011.

Lotus Renault GP Debuts Type 125 Formula 1 Race Car

Photo Credit: Lotus Renault GP

Receiving notoriety as perhaps the official team relating to Lotus sports cars, the Lotus Renault GP organization is the result of a new cooperation by the former Renault F1 team and Group Lotus. Creating a messy situation as the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season draws close to the March 13th command to start engines in Bahrain. Two Lotus teams (Team Lotus being the other) will be placing four cars on the Formula 1 grid powered by Renault engines. Thankfully, the look of the two Lotus teams will be distinct in livery. Team Lotus will wear green and yellow colouring while the Lotus Renault GP cars will be identified in a regal black and gold recreating the appearance of the original Team Lotus' John Players Special of the late 1970 to mid 1980s.

Wearing the new Lotus Renault GP look, the Type 125 has been revealed for the upcoming Grand Prix season. Said to be blending the expertise of Renault, Lotus and team partner Genii Capital, the Renault Lotus GP Type 125 race car will definitely be the crown jewel of the British brand's diverse return to motorsports. Including among items the movable rear wing now allowed by the FIA, the Renault Lotus GP is also wearing the new Pirelli Formula 1 slick tires.

Returning drivers from the Renault F1 team's 2010 campaign, Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov will pilot the Type 125 on the 2011 Grand Prix schedule. Both drivers will be the cornerstone to a team's stride to improve beyond the past team's 5th place finish in the F1 Constructor Championship. Renault Lotus GP also announced a new third driver joining the team for 2011. Bruno Senna (who spent most of last season competing with the HRT Formula 1 team) follows his legendary late uncle Ayrton Senna as a Lotus Formula 1 car driver. It appears that Bruno Senna is following a similar path to his uncle who too started his Formula 1 career outside of Lotus. Ayrton Senna debuted with short-lived Formula 1 team Toleman but moved to Lotus in 1985 where his legacy was launched.

With Formula 1 reshaping the 2011 Formula 1 rules to allow KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), Lotus is relishing the opportunity to allow their Type 125 Formula 1 race car to their future production sports cars. Four of the next five Lotus sports cars planned for the street over the next 4 years (Esprit, Elite, Elan and Eterne) will have a KERS option.  

Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar has been quite aware that the rather public dispute between the two Lotus teams is controversial but has been a formal declaration saying "I’m delighted to be able to formally clarify our position: We are Lotus, and we are back.”





Photo Credit: Lotus Renault GP





Photo Credit: Lotus Renault GP



Photo Credit: Lotus Renault GP



Two Lotus Teams will Officially Start 2011 Formula 1 Season

Two years ago, the return of the Lotus name to Formula 1 brought joy to many historically-minded Formula 1 fans. Enduring a tough 2010 season as a brand new team running spec engine and transmission rules, the Lotus Racing team began to restructure their 2011 season for much more success with Renault powerplants and gearboxes supplied by the new, reigning Formula 1 constructor champion Red Bull Racing. Under the helm of team principal Tony Fernandes and chief technical director Mike Gascoyne, the Formula 1 team also negotiated to gain a honour of renaming their organization 'Team Lotus' heading into 2011. Showing optimism, a surprising move changed the tone of Team Lotus, potentially threatening their existence in the upcoming Formula 1 season.

Group Lotus (the company under the Malaysian parent Proton Group which the Fernandes/Gascoyne Formula 1 team was licensing the rights to use the Lotus name in grand prix) began to express a lack of support for the team currently wearing their brand name. In a swift move, Group Lotus bought into the Renault F1 team declaring the resulting Lotus Renault GP the sports car company's official grand prix organization. Since that time, everything from naming to paint schemes is tainted with controversy. Much of this Group Lotus versus Team Lotus is now the focus of a UK courtroom.  

With a court ruling made Monday, the organization of Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne will be allowed to start the Formula 1 season as Team Lotus. Group Lotus had attempted to block the former Lotus Racing from using their brand's name starting the 2011 grand prix tour. This ruling formally confirms that two Formula 1 team will share the Lotus name and it will likely remain that way for the full season. Expressing a sense of victory, Team Lotus statement issued late Monday. "Team Lotus is delighted that we were successful at the Summary Judgment Application hearing today and that the Judge threw out Group Lotus' application even before hearing the arguments of the barristers on either side."

Winning this off-track battle on the application, Team Lotus still has an all-out trial where Group Lotus will challenge their former licensing partnership. Scheduled to start on March 21st, Group Lotus attorneys will attempt to completely dissolve the rights of Team Lotus to use their brand name. However, the initial decision means that Group Lotus has little ability to prevent Team Lotus' 2011 Formula 1 campaign. Last year, Peter Sauber's grand prix team was an example of what will possibly play out for Team Lotus. Because team owner Sauber (who had repurchased control of his team and barely had a resources ready for the season) was required to run as BMW Sauber even through BMW had completed divested itself from the operation in 2010. This makes any moves to bar Team Lotus by Group Lotus appear impossible through the 2011 Formula 1 season. It's also possible that Formula 1 might intervene against removing Team Lotus this upcoming season since it will remove two cars from the starting grid.

Proton/Lotus Announces 2011 Formula 1 Partnership with Renault F1

Photo Credit: Renault F1

In just one year back in Formula 1 resulting in the Lotus Racing team's 2010 on-track campaign without scoring points as a new outfit, it could be said that Lotus has at least mastered the art of gaining publicity. Having officially announced in the last weeks of the 2010 Formula 1 season their agreement to replace Cosworth engines with Renault power for 2011, paddock buzz surrounded the possibly that the Lotus Racing and Group Lotus' parent company Malaysia's Proton Group was considering a venture with another Formula 1 team for the next season. These rumours have turned to reality December 8th as Group Lotus and Genii Capital publicized their new partnership called Lotus Renault GP.

With Genii Capital existing as a stakeholder within the current Renault F1 effort, Group Lotus is certified as a holding equity share in the new Lotus Renault GP team. Unveiling the 2011 team's new livery, a black and gold car accented with touches of red bares a close resemblance to the John Players Special paint scheme used during the original Team Lotus' last great heyday. Unlike the Lotus Racing team where Proton has merely provided licensing of the British auto company's name, the car company has a ownership stake with Lotus Racing GP for the 2011 Formula 1 season guaranteed to feature Robert Kubica as the #1 driver. Russia's Vitaly Petrov has a 50/50 chance with returning to the ride for 2011. 
Questions exist where how the new agreement will affect the current Lotus Racing (or Team Lotus). Using the famous British sports car builder's name under license, Lotus Racing has presently stayed largely mum on the formulation of the Lotus Renault GP team. However, on Lotus Racing's team principal Tony Fernandes twitter page one message posted following the Wednesday announcement read "Dany bahr has done us a favour. Never felt better about our future and Team Lotus. Looks like the trying to hijak our black and gold idea.". It should be noted that the past few months have consisted of rumours that Proton Group and the Lotus Racing team have not been on the greatest of terms. 
While it seems that there will be a Team Lotus and a Lotus Renault GP team competing on the 2011 Formula 1 grand prix circuit, the biggest question being immediately presented is what will be the team livery of the 2010 Lotus Racing team. Having planned to change to the black and gold racing colours, the Lotus Renault GP team has apparently taken possession of the paint scheme. Whether the Team Lotus organization will stick with green and yellow or which to another team colour is unsure.