14 years on from his devasting rally crash, Robert Kubica has revealed he suffered 42 factures and lost three quarters of his blood as he was “all smashed up”.

A race winner in Formula 1 with BMW Sauber, Kubica was preparing for the 2011 Formula 1 season with Renault in what was to be his final year with the team before joining Ferrari, when he suffered life-changing injuries at the Ronde il Andora rally.

Robert Kubica: From my toe to my elbow, I was all broken

14 years ago, the Polish driver’s life changed when he was offered the opportunity to drive a Renault rally car at the Ronde di Andora rally. While initially he jumped at the opportunity, Kubica was hit by reservations but still went ahead with it.

During the opening stage on February 6, he lost control of the Skoda Fabia, hit a wall at high-speed and went spearing into a guardrail that pierced the cockpit of the car.

Kubica suffered severe injuries to his right side, including a sub-amputation of his right forearm, while his co-driver walked away unscathed.

It took rescue workers over an hour to free him from the car before being flown to hospital where he underwent a 12-hour life-saving operation. In total, Kubica had 17 operations on his injuries.

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The 40-year-old suffered 42 fractures and lost three quarters of his blood.

“I was in Valencia for pre-season testing when I was offered to race in the Renault rally car,” he told the Gurulandia podcast.

“Initially I accepted but then I called to say ‘forget it’ but they replied that Pirelli was already bringing tyres, the road was already blocked for testing.”

He felt at the time that contesting a rally would only improve his skills as a Formula 1 driver.

“I was sure that if I could adapt to that style of driving, I would definitely benefit,” he said.

“If it starts raining and you have slick tyres, the feeling that rallying gives you is priceless. When it starts raining in F1 they immediately give the red flag, whereas in the Monte Carlo Rally if you go on the track with dry tyres and it starts snowing you have to manage on your own and finish the stage.”

The crash left the Polish driver with life-changing injuries and facing a very long recovery.

“Honestly, I remember little of what happened because I was in a coma for so long,” he said.

“I arrived at the hospital with one and a half litres of blood, whereas a human body has six or seven. The right side of my body was all smashed up. I had 42 fractures and from my toe to my elbow I was all broken.”

“I am human,” he added. “For six or seven months I lost all feeling and I was not moving anything. I was trying to move my finger, but I could do it and it was a feeling that only those who have experienced it can understand. The day I succeeded, I felt an absurd joy.”

Kubica was back racing two years after the accident, contesting rallies and in 2019 made his Formula 1 comeback with Williams and scored Williams only point of the season.

He says today missing the opportunity to race for Ferrari is still an open wound.

He told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com: “Ferrari is my biggest regret. I should have moved to Maranello in 2012, but also much earlier, and not everyone knows this.

“It is the post-accident wound that reopens more easily. In the world we live in, it is easier to let things slide, but because of the accident I went from one extreme to the other.

“No one can imagine how different I was before 2011. What I experienced did not only affect the sporting side, but also my daily life. It was a big blow, which lasted for many years.

“I don’t even remember how I drove in the past. Never mind, that’s life and that’s how it went”.

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