Kubica badly injured. Part 2.

For further updates please check Lotus Renault GP Official Site.

Robert Kubica sufferd serious injuries in the Ronde di Andora rally car crash accident.

F1 driver was driving a Skoda Fabia S2000 in the event. His co-driver Jakub Gerber ain't injured. It is believed that Robert suffered broken leg and arm when other sources claiming 'broken wrist' or/and multiple leg and arm fractures. An accident happend at 8.30 AM. The car had to be cut into pieces to get access to the driver who was then  transported to Santa Corona di Pierre Ligura Hospital by rescue helicopter. 
Kubica was concious and is to undergo surgery ( -ies ).
It is certain that injuries he suffered will hamper his Jerez testing and it is very likely we won't see Robert in Bahrain  in  march.

All informations are unofficial. Partly based on info from savonanews.it, AFP and Gazeta.pl

Kubica the fastest man in Valencia ( 3 days of pre-season testing )

Day 3

DriverCarBest timeLapsDifference
1Robert KubicaRenault R311’13.144114
2Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes VJM031’13.201950.057
3Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes MP4-251’13.5531170.409
4Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault RB71’13.9361050.792
5Felipe MassaFerrari F1501’14.0171050.873
6Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth VR-011’14.207801.063
7Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth FW331’14.2991011.155
8Sergio PerezSauber-Ferrari C301’14.4691041.325
9Michael SchumacherMercedes W021’14.5371101.393
10Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari STR61’14.801731.657
11Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth F1101’16.535633.391
12Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault T12878
Day 2

TeamDriverBest time
FerrariFernando Alonso1’13.307
Red BullSebastian Vettel1’13.614
Force IndiaPaul di Resta1’13.844
McLarenGary Paffett1’14.292
RenaultRobert Kubica1’14.412
MercedesNico Rosberg1’14.645
VirginTimo Glock1’15.408
SauberKamui Kobayashi1’15.621
WilliamsRubens Barrichello1’16.023
Toro RossoSebastien Buemi1’16.359
HRTNarain Karthikeyan1’17.769
LotusHeikki Kovalainen1’20.649

Day 1

DriverCarBest time
Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault RB71’13.769
Nico HülkenbergForce India-Mercedes VJM031’13.939
Gary PaffettMcLaren-Mercedes MP4-251’14.292
Fernando AlonsoFerrari F1501’14.553
Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari C301’15.621
Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth VR-011’16.003
Vitaly PetrovRenault R311’16.351
Michael SchumacherMercedes W021’16.45
Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari STR61’17.214
Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth FW331’17.335
Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth F1101’18.02

Renault R31 launched ! Valencia, 2011.

Robert Kubica, Valencia 2011. Pit lane.

Team Lotus Renault GP. Valencia, 2011. Pit lane hooligans ;-)

Black-and-gold Lotus livery revealed

Renault have revealed the black-and-gold Lotus livery their F1 cars will carry in the 2011 season. Their 2010 F1 car bearing the new livery was formally launched this afternoon at the Autosport International show. Vitaly Petrov, team principal Eric Boullier, the team’s new racing ambassador Jean Alesi and Colin Chapman’s son Clive were on hand to reveal the car - f1fanatic reports. 

Renault's 2011 livery to be unveiled at ASI on Jan 31, Birmingham.

'The Renault F1 team will unveil its Lotus-sponsored livery at the AUTOSPORT International Show, ahead of the launch of the 2011 car on January 31 (...) in Birmingham. The 2011-spec car will make its first appearance the day before pre-season testing begins at Valencia.'

'Renault team owner Genii sold a stake in the team to Group Lotus last month, in a deal due to run until the end of 2017. Renault will remain as engine supplier to the team.' ( Autosport )

2010. F1fanatic readers voted.

BEST DRIVER OF 2010
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Robert Kubica

BEST PASS OF 2010
1. Robert Kubica on Jenson Button ( Europe GP )
2. Rubens Barichello on Michael Schumacher ( Hungary )
3. Lewis Hamilton on Nico Rosberg ( Australia )

BEST OVERTAKER OF 2010
1. Kamui Kobayashi
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Robert Kubica

Top 50 drivers for 2010 ( Autosport Magazine )

1. Sebastian Vettel (F1)
2. Lewis Hamilton (F1)
3 Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR)
4. Fernando Alonso (F1)
5. Sebastien Loeb (World Rally)
6. Dario Franchitti (IndyCar)
7. Mark Webber (F1)
8. Will Power (IndyCar)
9. Robert Kubica (F1)
10. Jenson Button (F1)

11. Denny Hamlin (NASCAR)
12. Nico Rosberg (F1)
13. Paul di Resta (DTM/F1)
14. Sebastien Ogier (World Rally)
15. Petter Solberg (World Rally)
16. Edoardo Mortara (F3)
17. Daniel Ricciardo (FRenault 3.5)
18. Kevin Harvick (NASCAR)
19. Rubens Barrichello (F1)
20. Yvan Muller (Touring Cars)
21. Jari-Matti Latvala (World Rally)
22. Nico Hulkenberg (F1)
23. Jean-Eric Vergne (F3)
24. Kamui Kobayashi (F1)
25. James Courtney (V8 Supercars)
26. Jamie Green (DTM)
27. Sam Bird (GP2)
28. Kyle Busch (NASCAR)
29. Stephane Sarrazin (Sportscars)
30. Pastor Maldonado (GP2)
31. Jamie Whincup (V8 Supercars)
32. Jason Plato (Touring Cars)
33. Andy Priaulx (Touring Cars)
34. Marc Lieb (GT)
35. Timo Glock (F1)
36. Timo Bernhard (Sportscars)
37. Jamie McMurray (NASCAR)
38. Sergio Perez (GP2)
39. Juho Hanninen (Rallying)
40. Joao Paulo de Oliveira (FNippon)
41. Mikhail Aleshin (FRenault 3.5)
42. Heikki Kovalainen (F1)
43. Esteban Guerrieri (FRenault 3.5)
44. Gary Paffett (DTM)
45. Valtteri Bottas (F3)
46. Richard Westbrook (GT)
47. Craig Dolby (Superleague)
48. Craig Lowndes (V8 Supercars)
49. Rob Huff (Touring Cars)
50. Filipe Albuquerque (Race of Champions)

Renault rebranded as Lotus Renault GP

Gerard Lopez, Genii Capital chief and chairman of Renault F1 Team:
"We are delighted that we can now go public with the news that we will be racing as Lotus Renault GP in 2011. t is extremely exciting to begin a new era for the team in partnership with Group Lotus, and we will continue to enjoy a strong relationship with Renault over the coming seasons. It is a tribute to the excellent work this year by the team in Enstone that we have been able to attract both major sponsorship and new investment for a very bright future.

Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar:
"I can think of no better platform for automotive brand communications than motorsport and F1 is the very pinnacle of open-wheel racing. We're well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I'm delighted to be able to formally clarify our position once and for all: we are Lotus and we are back."

Dato' Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, chairman of Proton:
"We know that Group Lotus has much to offer Formula 1 and vice versa. After careful consideration, we believe this arrangement will be fruitful, both from a commercial and marketing point of view." 

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Proton advisor and former Prime Minister of Malaysia:
"This is an exciting development which delivers strategic benefits to both Group Lotus and Proton. I fully support the partnership."

Le Figaro on Lotus Renault ( 13th Nov )

“French carmaker Renault SA is about to sell its remaining 25 percent stake in its namesake Formula One team to Malaysia’s Proton, Le Figaro reported, citing people close to the matter it didn’t identify. “Proton’s Lotus Cars brand will be the team’s sponsor for about 30 million euros ( $41 million ) annually over five years, and the team’s new name may be Lotus-Renault as the French automaker will keep providing engines, Le Figaro said.”

Abu Dhabi GP: PlanetF1.com on Robert Kubica + lap chart + pit stop data


Star of the Race
Robert Kubica, Renault, 5th
Robert Kubica drove an exhilarating race after getting caught out at the start - 14th at Turn 1 - and made his own luck as he progressed through the field. He put in two crucial overtaking moves on Adrian Sutil and Kamui Kobayashi (see below) who were on the similar tyre strategy. Sutil and Kobayashi finished outside of the points in P13 and P14 respectively, but Kubica clawed his way past and up into P5. He also managed to keep in front of Lewis Hamilton, not that that aided his position at all, if anything it could have hindered it. For a car that hasn't been developed much since Spa it was a tremendous result.
Overtaking Move of the Race
Lap 25: Robert Kubica on Kamui Kobayashi for P4
Robmert Kubica could have won this twice over, first for his overtaking move on Sutil and second for his overtaking move on Kobayashi. The Japanese driver held the inside line going into Turn 11 (a corner which really should have been reprofiled to give more room on the exit and to allow cars to run through it side by side) but Kubica used the Renault's straight line speed to good advantage and got far enough in front before the turn-in to dissuade Kobyashi from doing a Webber-at-Singapore move.


Lap chart


Pit Stops

Place where the red and orange bars meet indicates the very first pit stop.
Graphs and data from f1fanatic.co.uk

FINAL STANDINGS 2010

Drivers’ championship

PositionDriverPoints
1Sebastian Vettel256
2Fernando Alonso252
3Mark Webber242
4Lewis Hamilton240
5Jenson Button214
6Felipe Massa144
7Nico Rosberg142
8Robert Kubica136
9Michael Schumacher72
10Rubens Barrichello47
11Adrian Sutil47
12Kamui Kobayashi32
13Vitaly Petrov27
14Nico Hülkenberg22
15Vitantonio Liuzzi21
16Sebastien Buemi8
17Pedro de la Rosa6
18Nick Heidfeld6
19Jaime Alguersuari5
20Heikki Kovalainen0
21Jarno Trulli0
22Karun Chandhok0
23Bruno Senna0
24Lucas di Grassi0
25Timo Glock0
26Sakon Yamamoto0
27Christian Klien0

Constructors’ championship

PositionTeamPoints
1Red Bull498
2McLaren454
3Ferrari396
4Mercedes214
5Renault163
6Williams69
7Force India68
8Sauber44
9Toro Rosso13
10Lotus0
11HRT0
12Virgin0