While fans, and many with the F1 paddock, believe Robert Kubica's return to the F1 grid would be one of the sport's true fairy-tales, others are no doubt looking to how they might best exploit the story.

However, none of this matters to the man himself, the man who almost lost an arm - indeed his life - when a guardrail pierced his car during a rally in early 2010 just three days after he had posted the fastest time of the opening pre-season test in Valencia.

In the weeks and months that followed, while the rest of us were wondering what sort of life the young Pole would lead following that horrific crash, the man himself was already planning his come back.

And come back he certainly did. Over the years that followed he enjoyed success in WR2 while looking at LMP1 and even Formula E, though initial tests in the Mercedes simulator appeared to suggest an F1 return was unlikely.

However, this year, he took another giant stride back towards the F1 grid with a number of tests, first for Renault, and more recently with Williams, initially in a 2014 car before moving on to contemporary equipment.

At the end of this week's two-day tyre test in Abu Dhabi, which saw the Pole complete 128 laps in total and post the 11th best time of all 25 drivers on duty - and the quickest of all three Williams drivers - he was adamant that if he does get the seat alongside Lance Stroll at Williams, fairy-tales are the last thing on his mind.

"A lot of things have been written and talked about lately," he told reporters. "I think that's normal because there are a lot of question marks and everybody has their own opinion.

"I think there are a lot of people who want to see me back because of the story," he admitted. "The story is nice but in the end there are no discounts for the story, in the end I have to make sure if I get the chance I am ready, and I have to be as best prepared as I can if something comes up.

"I appreciate it," he said of the support he has had from fans and many weithin the sport, "because I think there's a lot of hope and a lot of wishes of a lot of people, but in the end I know how reality is. The reality is that once I'm in the car there is no story anymore, I have to be myself with the car and with the team and the job has to be done.

"First of all I have to be sure that I am able to do it," he continued, "and for sure every day is giving me a lot of confidence that things can work out pretty well. For my standards to be met it pretty much means I have to drive at a high level.

"If I'm coming back I'm not just here to make up the numbers," he insists. "Although I've been away for seven years, with my limitations I have to be sure that I am able to provide my best possibilities and be the best Robert Kubica which I know."

With some claiming the come-back echoes Niki Lauda's return to the F1 grid, just weeks after being given the last rites following his horrific Nurburgring crash, Kubica said: "Everybody has their own life and their own situations. I think from one side it's correct to compare it and from the other side I'm not saying it's bad to compare but it's just a different story.

"Although Niki has a different story to mine, both stories were quite special. F1 is a special world but once you put on the helmet everything disappears and you have to be in a position to deliver."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Editor, 01/12/2017 17:20

"@ mammamia

Now these are the kind of posts we like to see!"

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 01/12/2017 15:38

"I'd love to see him back in a decent car. I think that 4-wheel Drifter does him (and Lewis and M Schumacher)something of a disservice by suggesting their successes are\ were in some way merely "technical", and that Robert Kubica's speed is largely "instinctive and\or emotional".

Driving in today's F1, like it or not (and it seems increasing numbers don't) is a highly technical business. I have little doubt that most days Lewis Hamilton flat-out for 52 laps would blitz most of the opposition, most of the time.
But in 2017 the tyres only work properly for a few laps, the cars are not only fuel, but consumption-limited, and because of the ludicrously complex (and expensive) aero drivers are unlikely ever to overtake unless by way of a significant lap-time advantage, DRS or no.
Oh, and then there are those stupid Penalties, encouraging teams to 'turn down the wick', not because they don't want to break the machinery, but because they don't want to start last all the time.

Robert Kubica is clearly an intelligent, incredibly brave and disciplined man. He knows how F1 works, and I'm sure that like Hamilton, and today's other drivers, he'll walk the line between "balls-out" and "car\race management" with aplomb.
My point is that consistently to go as fast as possible you need the raw speed, but you also need to be hard-nosed and analytical about how you deploy the equipment at your disposal. I'm hoping to see Kubica do all those things brilliantly, and to win some races......"

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3. Posted by mammamia, 01/12/2017 0:26

"Thank You for this article Pitpass!

For years I find your articles very well written and of the finest journalist standards. I can't even count how many times I laughed reading your articles and how many times I got hooked on to things I had no idea about just by sheer writing craft presented.
As Roberts compariot I'm proud how well he's beeing treated by you and how true your words are in every single article published here. Even simple summary of what he said over last couple of days is presented with utmost attention to detail and delivers unbiased information to readers.

Thank you very much "

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4. Posted by 4-Wheel Drifter, 30/11/2017 22:33

"Robert was, like Seb and Max and Kimi and Fernando, BLINDINGLY FAST and I looked forward to his career with enthusiasm. Lewis, like Michael, is a remarkably focussed and technically surgical master of not only the car but the circuit AND the championship standings; he never puts a foot wrong. Like Mercedes Benz, he is prepared and efficient and master of everything that can be known about a race. But drivers like Robert & Kimi & Max & Sebastian bring to the sport something else: an openness to the UNknown the opportunity that arises in miliiseconds on the very edge or limit. I think Fernando is a combination of both. And so is Robert. It shows in his words. This isn't a story; it's a race and it's not over until the flag drops or the machine fails. We need Robert back and if he is up to his own standings, WATCH OUT everyone."

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5. Posted by meatball, 30/11/2017 21:59

"If Williams can get a good car on the road Kubica will be back with FORCE!

"Robert who?" says Stroll? Watch it son, you just got schooled by a one-armed rookie. Pull thine socks up! 11/25 after 7 years out F1, new to hybrids and the 2017 spec? And it the Williams at THAT!

I hope that Williams give us all an early Christmas present and Kubica a contact! "

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6. Posted by Yeyox02, 30/11/2017 20:41

"Go ahead Robert and DO IT no matter what people say, think or feel."

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7. Posted by Ro, 30/11/2017 17:41

"I think, and hope, that Williams take him on. even Lewis Hamilton spoke on how good he was (and is?) At leat it will make F1 a bit more interesting. He will undeniably be quicker than his team mate, £millions and all....
"

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Kubica: I'm not here to make a nice story

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