Robert Kubica has apparently decided to call time on his Formula 1 career and focus on other areas of motorsport.
The Pole is an F1 race winner, having earned victory racing for BMW Sauber at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix. His career was going from strength to strength and he had even signed a deal with Ferrari – but then fate got in the way of that move.
His arm was partially severed in a huge crash in a rally race in February 2011. Remarkably, after a lengthy recovery and participation in other series, Kubica proved his F1 career was not yet over as he was announced as a Williams reserve for the 2018 season.
He stepped up to take a race seat the following season and, after another year, returned to Sauber – branded now as Alfa Romeo – as a reserve. Kubica raced twice for the team in 2021, replacing Kimi Raikkonen who was absent after a positive Covid test.
The 38-year-old's future has looked uncertain for many months, and speculation over his departure only intensified when the ORLEN sponsor disappeared from the team's list of sponsors on its website. It reappeared a few days later, but the link has now officially been terminated.
It was announced on Friday that ORLEN will partner with AlphaTauri. The oil refinery company is not expected to be a title sponsor, as was the case with Alfa Romeo – Sauber have struck a deal with betting firm Stake to be their new principal partner.
However, that Kubica will not be moving to AlphaTauri with ORLEN. He is said to have decided to end his F1 career, in order to focus fully on racing in the World Endurance Championship.
Kubica said after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year that he was "comfortable" if it was his last F1 weekend. "In the end, I have been always very realistic," he said. "Let's be honest, at 38 it's not that you would be surprised if you will not get a drive anymore. There's too many ifs, so let's wait and see and react to it.
"I think my story showed never say never, of course. To be honest, the only reason I'm still here is that I get the chance to drive sometimes, and for sure the day I will not get even any car driving, probably it will be the end."
On Thursday, Alfa Romeo announced they will not have a team principal for the 2023 season. Instead, Alessandro Alunni Bravi has been appointed as 'team representative' on race weekends and other official functions, reporting to new Sauber chief executive Andreas Seidl.
