page_title: Robert Kubica
section_title: 2010 season: moving to Renault
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Kubica / Formula One career / Renault / 2010 season: moving to Renault
caption_attribution_description: IMG_2566
context_page_description: Robert Józef Kubica is a Polish racing driver. He became the first and, as of 2020, only Polish driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006. In June 2008, Kubica took his maiden Formula One victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the first Polish driver to win a Formula One race. That season he led the championship at one stage, before finishing fourth overall, his best career position. Kubica drove for Renault in 2010 and was set to remain with the team in 2011. Several years later Kubica confirmed he had signed a pre-contract for the 2012 season with Ferrari, a move that was eventually cancelled by his devastating rally crash in the winter of 2011.
  On 6 February 2011, Kubica was seriously injured in a crash at the Ronde di Andora rally, in which his right forearm was partially severed. He was taking part in the rally for personal enjoyment. Kubica told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport in a bedside interview that he could feel the fingers in his right hand and was determined to make a swift return to Formula One in 2011.
context_section_description: Kubica moved to the Renault team for 2010. His position was briefly put in doubt, however, by the team evaluating its future in the sport following the 2009 season in the wake of the "Crashgate" scandal and the parent company's financial problems. This resulted in a Luxembourg-based investment firm, Genii Capital, taking a 75% stake in the team; Renault retained the remaining 25%. Eric Boullier was also appointed as the new team manager. Kubica said he might not stay with Renault, as his contract was only valid if the parent company had a controlling stake in the team, but he then decided to remain with them. On 31 January 2010, it was announced that Vitaly Petrov was to be Kubica's teammate.
  It was reported in Autosport that Ferrari driver Felipe Massa had until the 2010 British Grand Prix to prove to the Maranello outfit that he was worth hanging onto: if not, Kubica would take his seat in 2011. However, Ferrari re-signed Massa for 2011, leaving Kubica without a drive at the Italian team.
  On 7 July 2010, it was confirmed that Kubica had extended his contract with Renault to 2012.
  At the opening race of the 2010 season in Bahrain, Kubica was tagged by Adrian Sutil and spun on the opening lap but recovered to 11th. At the next race in Australia, he finished second after starting in ninth position. Fourth in Malaysia and fifth in China left him in seventh place in the Drivers' Championship, 20 points behind championship leader Jenson Button. Kubica felt that had there not been a second safety car period in China he could have finished on the podium. In Spain he finished eighth, but followed this up with another podium in Monaco, holding third throughout after losing second at the start to Sebastian Vettel. At the Turkish Grand Prix, he was held up behind Nico Rosberg for the second time in the season after Malaysia, and finished sixth.
  In Canada, Kubica finished seventh after an eventful race and problems with tyre degradation which made his race difficult, but did set the first fastest lap of his career in the race's closing stages. He added a fifth in Valencia and seventh in Germany before taking his third podium of the season in Belgium. He was competitive throughout the weekend, qualifying third, and only a bungled pitstop cost him second to Mark Webber. In Singapore, he qualified eighth in front of Schumacher. During the late stages of the race, he was forced to pit from sixth place due to a puncture. He was released from the pits to twelfth place, but with the help from superior grip and a series of overtaking moves—his move against Sutil was favourably compared to the incident between Webber and Hamilton—was able to claim seventh place, ultimately gaining a place from his qualifying result. In Suzuka, he managed to trail the Red Bulls throughout the weekend and translated it into a strong third place in qualifying. However, despite getting a good start and overtaking Webber at the start of the race, but would retire during the safety car period after losing one of his rear tyres.
  Formula One journalist Mark Hughes remarked that Kubica was currently "arguably the best driver", considering the season so far. He emphasised Kubica's strong showing in tracks where Hughes believed that the differences in driver skills are able to overwhelm the differences in the capability of the cars; namely, Monaco, Spa and Suzuka. Kubica managed to finish on the podium behind the Red Bulls except in Suzuka where he was strong throughout the weekend nevertheless, despite retiring from the race through no fault of his own.
caption: Kubica driving for Renault at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the season.
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