Calamity Kube

Move over Mark Webber, Formula One has a brand new Mr. Unlucky in the shape of an unfortunate big-nosed Pole. Robert Kubica was dealt the blow of a broken leg earlier this week after slipping on ice, setting back his long-awaited recovery even further and casting fresh doubts upon his return to the sport.

It's a damn shame. Kubica has shown us on many occasions that he has the potential to be a World Champion in Formula One. His brute pace, combined with his obsessive attention to detail in testing and lap times, makes him one of the most skillful and highly-equipped drivers in the sport. However, it seems that somewhere along the line, he has killed a leprechaun or stabbed a horseshoe, because the lanky Pole has absolutely no luck left in the world.

Kubica didn't explode onto the scene in the same way Lewis Hamilton did, but did set a very early impression. In his first race at the chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix of 2006, Kubica finished an impressive 7th only to be later disqualified because the car was underweight. Nevertheless, he remained positive and achieved an unexpected, foretelling podium at the Italian Grand Prix just before the half-season that he had been bought in for ended.

In 2007, he largely played second-fiddle to Nick Heidfeld, who probably had the most successful season of his career that year. A choppy beginning for Kubica culminated in the spectacular solo crash that struck terror into viewers' spines during the Canadian Grand Prix. Miraculously, the Pole was unharmed and only skipped one race before getting back into his BMW. The eye-scrambling incident seemed to reinvigorate Kubica, who went on a solid, consistent run of eight points finishes from the final ten races. He was still a few performances behind Heidfeld, but that was to change in 2008.

The following year, BMW set their drivers a target of getting a single race win. After crashing out of a manic Australian Grand Prix, Kubica steeled himself for a possible victory with a string of fantastic drives that kept him within the top four for five races. Finally, at the Canadian track in which he'd suffered that enormous accident, Kubica took advantage of a bizarre pitlane mistake from Lewis Hamilton to lead home a BMW 1-2. It remains the highlight of his career so far, given the immaculate nature of the drive and the reward he enjoyed to go with it.

Kubica took the lead in the title race and became a realistic prospect for World Drivers' Champion, but BMW didn't quite have as much faith in their chances. They chose to slow down development on the 2008 car in favour of preparing for a title challenge in 2009. This meant that an angry Kubica was left to struggle around in a car that was being left behind by the rest of the field, and the lanky Pole could only achieve another three podiums that year. He fell away from the title race, but took solace in the promise of a stronger title push next season.

As 2008 became 2009, there were rule changes aplenty in F1 which mixed up the pack very effectively. Nobody could really anticipate what would work and what wouldn't until the season had begun, and as a result BMW suddenly found themselves spluttering along at the back of the pack. After a massively disappointing start to the season, BMW announced they would be withdrawing the team from F1, and Kubica was faced with the prospect of having no drive for 2010. In response, he pulled every tenth of performance he could out of the lagging car, and secured a modest amount of points topped by an impressive 2nd place in Brazil.

Renault took note of Kubica's willful efforts and with fuzzy-eyebrowed Spaniard Fernando Alonso joining Ferrari, the stage was set for Kubica to continue his career at the former double-champions. Renault offered him a car with a similar consistency and solidarity to the BMW of 2007, and with this Kubica plucked away in each race achieving good hauls of points on almost every occasion. With four other teams being undoubtedly more up for the challenge than Renault in 2010, Kubica made do with a 'best-of-the-rest' finish in eighth place, including three podium finishes.

This is, at the moment, where the story ends for Kubica. A pre-season rallying event ended disastrously for him as he crashed into a barrier and suffered severe injuries to his right arm, shoulder and hand. Kubica was close to having his whole arm amputated, but gradually he managed to stabilise himself upon to rocky road to recovery. It was feared that he may never regain full usage of his right-hand, and that could still end up being a big problem should Kubica ever return to F1, but this more recent broken leg poses a further problem.

It's unlikely teams will feel the obligation to be patient. Lotus have carried out a contingency plan by drafting in former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, and it's hard to imagine that they will be pining for Kubica given the capable hands of their new number one driver. F1 teams may end up having doubts about Kubica's sharpness owing to his long absence from the sport. They may believe his injuries will make him a weaker driver. They may even question whether or not he can be relied upon in the future, given how accident-prone he appears to be.

All these things work against a prospect that once promised great things. All that can be said is, if Kubica is to fulfill his potential in F1, it's going to be an incredible fightback.