09/09/2012
NEWS STORY
Mat Coch writes:
Making his racing return for the first time since a rally injury sustained in the lead up to the 2011 season, Robert Kubica has not ruled out a possible return to the F1 grid.
Taking part in the Ronde Gomitolo di Lana rally in Italy behind the wheel of a Subaru, Kubica was looking forward to the next step in his rehabilitation.
"Obviously I would have preferred to come back somewhere else, but this is a more active phase in my rehabilitation path," he told Italy's SkySport24.
"The hope is to be able to return where I was before (the crash), and it's already a nice goal for me. But to be here in Biella is obviously emotional after 20-21 difficult months."
Although off the radar for much of this season, Kubica has once again been linked with a number of possible seats for the 2014 season. However while a Formula One return is the ultimate ambition, the 27-year-old remains realistic.
"I can't tell you what the future holds because I don't honestly know myself," he admitted. "I've done various tests on the track with high-performance cars, but I need to decide myself what to do, what I would like best, and see whether the F1 objective is reachable or not.
"I have still got a long road to travel and will probably never be at the same physical level as before but I don't intend to give up," he added. "The aim remains to return to Formula One and the next few months will tell me whether I can do it next year already or will have to wait until 2014.
"Being here is already a good step, but I would have preferred to be somewhere else."