F1: Robert Kubica update
Kubica to undergo second surgery - Racer.com article
Robert Kubica faces more surgery for treatment to his injuries after responding well to a seven-hour operation to save his right hand, following his crash during the Ronde di Andora rally on Sunday.
The 26-year-old suffered a sub-amputation of his right forearm and lost a significant amount of blood while he was trapped in his Skoda Fabia rally car for more than one hour, while emergency crews tried to extricate him.
Kubica is reported to have lost control between two timed runs and made contact with a barrier, which pierced the footwell of his car. He also sustained compound fractures to his right elbow and shoulder, as well as more to his right leg.
The director of the trauma center at the Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure, Dr Giorgio Barabino told Italian media that Kubica will remain in intensive therapy for at least another day, but that initial signs are positive.
“The patient will stay in intensive care for 24 to 48 hours,” he was quoted as saying by Il Vostro Giornale. “We are optimistic, anyway, since he is responding very well to treatment. Obviously he feels a lot of pain, but it couldn’t have been any different.”
Obviously, Kubica will miss the first few races, but his future in F1 all depends on how his hand recovers, as he has to be able to operate all of the buttons and the paddle shifter on the steering wheel.
Co-driver explains Kubica crash - autosport.com article
Robert Kubica’s co-driver, Jakub Gerber, has explained how their accident on Sunday’s Ronde di Andora rally happened.
The Renault F1 driver remains in intensive care in hospital in Italy and is due to undergo a second surgery on serious hand and arm injuries and a broken right leg.
Gerber explained how their Skoda Fabia was penetrated by a section of barrier after Kubica slid wide into a right-hander.
“We knew the surface was slippery because of the humidity and we were ready,” Gerber told Gazzetta dello Sport. “After skidding, the car leaned against the guard rail and pushed it outwards. Then it crashed against the following guard rail.
“The guard rail pierced through the car and went all the way through it. I immediately saw it was serious, he also had a bad bruise under his eye after hitting the steering wheel. Robert passed out and I exited through the window because the door was stuck.
“The ambulance arrived immediately and then came the firemen. They took over half an hour to pull him out. The first crew didn’t have the shears so they had to wait for another crew. Then the helicopter couldn’t land in that spot, so Robert had to be moved and more time was lost.”
Here’s a video showing the aftermath of the Kubica crash, in which you can clearly see a section of the guardrail sticking out both the front and back of the car:
EDIT: Video is no longer available
This video is of the car that followed Kubica’s and was the first car upon the scene of the crash, which happened about a minute or two before the camera car came upon the scene. At about the 3:10 mark, you can see the marshals at the side of the road displaying a yellow flag. At 3:21, there are several bystanders waving the car down, and you can see Kubica’s co-driver, Jakub Gerber, also waving the car down before returning to Kubica’s side. The driver of the camera car continued for several meters to pull off at a safe place, then the two climb out to aid Kubica. As the camera car drives by to pull off, you can see the piece of guardrail sticking out of both ends of the car.
It is predicted by Kubica’s surgeon that it would take a year before the Pole can regain full functions of his hand, if everything goes well. Hopefully everything goes well for him and he’ll be back in a F1 car next year.
Get well, Kubica.