Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica shocked everyone with his performance in the 2008 season, creating hype around him for the 2009 episode. After having bagged 7 podiums including a win in Canada, he finished the 2008 season in 4th position overall in the Drivers Championship. Well, what happened post that is still a mystery. The 2009 season with the same team was a big letdown. Kubica managed to bag just one podium, finishing second in the Brazilian GP. After BMW Sauber having left Robert Kubica as a free agent, he managed to replace Alonso in the Renault lineup. It will be interesting to see what he will be able to achieve with a much better car and technical backup.

After driving as a test driver for the first 12 races of 2006, Robert Kubica's F1 career started with a disqualification in Hungary. But he more than made up for it two races later in Italy finishing third and becoming one of only three drivers to grab a podium finish in just their third race. Kubica even raced because Villeneuve was nursing an injury. As events later unfolded themselves, Villeneuve had quit F1 and Kubica was pushed into the limelight.

Kubica had gone through the grind of moving up from karting to junior formulas when the opportunity to break into F1 presented itself. In his first race in Hungary, Kubica shone in qualifying and was up at 9th after qualification beating his more experienced team-mate Nick Heidfeld. In the race, although he finished 7th, he was disqualified for having an underweight car.

After the high at Italy, though, came the low of reality and Kubica was confined to the lower place finishes. His results, though, were noteworthy for a rookie and included two 9th place finishes in Japan and Brazil to wrap up the season.

His selection for the 2007 season was confirmed soon and he will be one of almost six rookies racing this season. He is, however, realistic about his expectations. "For my first full season as a regular F1 racing driver I hope we will be able to fight for points in most of the races and have consistent speed," said Kubica about his modest expectations.

Kubica has raised expectations with his performances last year. Even is he tries to deflect the attention now by calling for "more reliability" from the BMW cars, he's like a deer caught in the headlights. He can't really escape! But above average performances is all he really needs.

At BMW, Kubica grabbed his chances and moved up to become their top driver for 2008. After a tough start to the season (retirement in Australia), Kubica had two podium finishes and was in the running for the title until the last four races. His winning drive in Canada raised hopes of BMW moving into the title contenders, but reliability issues struck and also some bad luck.

For 2009, Kubica remained BMW's best hope. Heidfeld was aging fast and whether he could adapt to the changed regulations remained to be seen. But the Pole is as keen a student as ever and realistically, has a chance at the title. Whether he had the stomach for such a fight remained to be seen.

The season started with a stroke of bad luck as Kubica and Sebastian Vettel had a minor brush which resulted in a major problem for Kubica. A few laps after the incident the front wing of the car came undone and got stuck under the car. Kubica crashed into the wall and ended the first race of the season with a sullen face. The season continued with no point finishes and finally Kubica had scored only in five out of the seventeen races on the calendar. A lowly seventeen points to show for the season was hardly an achievement compared to the previous season's 75 points from 18 races. As he now shifts his loyalty to Renault, Kubica has a lot to prove to himself and his critics. The most striking factor about this young driver is that he has the right moves, but seldom has the appropriate ride to support his visions. Renault too is in a similar situation, and together they can achieve what they are aiming for!