Ted Kravitz names the ‘greatest lost talent’ he’s seen during his 30 years in Formula 1

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Ted Kravitz says the ‘incredibly quick’ Robert Kubica was destined to achieve so much more as a Formula 1 driver.

Kubica made his F1 debut in 2006 for BMW Sauber, replacing former world champion Jacques Villeneuve after a heavy crash for the Canadian. He finished sixth in the championship in his first full season, then improved to fourth a year later.

The Pole notched seven podiums in 18 races in 2008, including his one and only career victory at the Canadian GP. BMW Sauber struggled following the 2009 regulation changes, which prompted Kubica to join Renault.

Which F1 driver is the ultimate ‘what might have been?’

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Ted Kravitz says Robert Kubica was on the verge of joining Ferrari

Kubica’s career was transformed by a rallying accident shortly before the 2011 season. As Kravitz explains in his book, F1 Insider, his insurance company paid out on his lost future earnings after he suffered severe injuries to his right hand, arm and leg.

He managed to return to racing in 2013, and after stints in the WRC and GT racing, he remarkably made it back to the F1 grid with Williams in 2019. However, his struggles against a rookie George Russell suggested that he was no longer the same driver.

Kravitz, who has now worked in F1 for 30 years after entering the paddock in 1996, went as far as to call Kubica the ‘greatest lost talent’ in the sport’s history.

• READ MORE: Robert Kubica names which former Formula 1 world champion ‘never’ liked him during his career

He was apparently in line for a 2012 Ferrari seat alongside Fernando Alonso, which raises questions about what might have been.

“In many ways, Kubica is F1’s greatest lost talent,” Kravitz wrote. “He was quite simply incredibly quick.

“Ferrari appreciated how good he was and, encouraged by Fernando Alonso, offered Kubica a provisional race contract to give the Maranello squad the first call on his services for the 2012 season as a potential replacement for Felipe Massa.

“All he had to do was to see out one more year in a midfield Renault, and he’d likely move to Ferrari.”

Robert Kubica thought he would beat Fernando Alonso at Ferrari

Speaking in 2019, Hamilton called Kubica ‘one of the most talented’ drivers he has faced.

Former Renault engineer Ayao Komatsu, now the Haas F1 team boss, was convinced that Kubica was going to be a world champion when they worked together.

Kubica backed himself against Alonso before his proposed move to Ferrari, even though the Spaniard was already establishing himself as an all-time great.

Alonso narrowly lost out to Sebastian Vettel in the 2012 title race, so perhaps that would have been Kubica’s big chance to take the top prize.