11/02/2011
NEWS STORY
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Still facing a number of operations and months of recuperation, Robert Kubica is not only vowing to be back on track as soon as possible, he claims he may have improved as a racer.
As he continues to make excellent progress following his horrific accident in a rally last weekend, all the popular Pole can think about is getting back into his Lotus Renault GP R31 and resuming his F1 career.
"I want to get back on the track stronger than ever, because after these accidents you aren't what you were before, you improve," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It happened to me in 2007 too, after the crash in Canada. I was out for a race and when I got back I was better.
"A driver is not just throttle and steering wheel, it's more than that," he continued. "There's a difference between someone who drives at 80% and who drives at 95%; in that 15% extra you find the abilities and the motivations coming out.
"Since 2007, I'm stronger head-wise as a driver. And it will be the same again this time, when I'm back in good physical shape. I must return this year. I remember well my state when, seven years ago, I was in a car with a friend driving, we were hit by another car driven by a drunk. We ended up against a barrier and bent it, before falling down a cliff.
"It was the same right arm... massacred. But after four days it didn't feel as good as it feels now and this reassures me. Dr Ceccarelli did the rest, and he assists me now too. I have an insane urge to cut the times with the best possible preparation. I don't even know what a bone is like but since they are fixing it for me, it's up to me to make it work the way it's supposed to."
Asked about his physical condition he said: "The fingers work, I can feel them, and the arm does too. But I'm undergoing surgery and I will know only after that.
"I'm sorry for what has happened," he continued. "It shouldn't have. I don't even know what happened; I can't remember anything of the crash. I found myself in hospital and everything was explained by my manager, Daniele Morelli, who has been here since Sunday.
"However, had I not done it, I would have stayed home regretting it. So I did it and now I'm in this bed. But rallies aren't just a passion. They are severe training for F1. I drive better in F1 because I did many rallies last year. Rallying helps your concentration, especially since there is almost no more testing in F1. Performance in F1 comes from a series of details. Rallying has allowed me to work on certain aspects of myself where there are still margins to improve. It's important in a season like this with 20 races."
Talking to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Kubica's manager Daniele Morelli revealed that on arriving at the hospital we was told the Pole had just one litre of blood in his body. "’Call the boy's parents'." he recalls the doctors telling him. "I felt myself freeze."