As the Pole recovers from his horrific accident on Sunday, Lotus Renault GP boss Eric Boullier has defended his team's decision to allow Robert Kubica to take part in events other than F1.

F1 Fans of a certain age will remember the days when their heroes were to be found in action almost every weekend. If they wasn't a Grand Prix, drivers could be found taking part in non-championship F1 races, F2, Sport Cars, Touring Cars, Can Am or Indy Cars. Indeed, even over Grand Prix weekends, some drivers would participate in the support events.

After all, these were men who wanted to race, men who didn't want to be restricted to fifteen, sixteen or even twenty weekends of racing a year.

In recent years, strict contracts - often more about sponsor conflicts than anything else - have seen F1 drivers heavily restricted when it comes to extra curricular activities. However, one of the exceptions was Robert Kubica, who made no secret of his love of rallying.

Sadly, his accident in yesterday's Ronda de Andora Rally, an accident which leaves the Pole's F1 career in the balance, will have repercussions for all F1 drivers in terms of outside activities.

However, speaking to the French news agency AFP, Boullier has defended his team's decision to allow its star driver to pursue his hobby.

"This is nothing to do with business," he said. "Robert is allowed to do it because it is close to his heart. For him, rallying is vital, it is his balance. From that side, it's a mutual agreement.

"We knew the risks as well," he added: "We don't want a robot or corporate driver."