Kubica: ‘I can get back to the driver I was’

Robert Kubica has no doubt that with the right training and preparation that he can return to the high standard he set himself before his rally accident.

Renault are gradually easing the Pole back behind the wheel of the Formula 1 with a couple of private tests in Spain and France.

And he is now set to step up his preparations by taking part in the two-day test following the Hungarian Grand Prix.

As Kubica gets ready for the next challenge, he has given an insight into his mental approach to a Formula 1 return and his confidence about making a successful comeback.

"I needed to find a favourable mental condition. It is a matter of awareness. To treat my disability as a surmountable problem and not as a definitive handicap," Kubica told Corriere della Sera.

"This way I could deal more serenely the first test and I realised only there that any limitation is relative. I started with no idea of my reactions, without any warranty. And I found myself.

"That is a pure driver seeking the performance and nothing else. Everything turned on again immediately because nothing was deleted. 

"Like swimming, cycling. I soon acquired an authentic feeling. And I just thought to reach a goal, and then another, having to do with ambition.

"So if Renault were keen to continue this madness, let's say, well now I have the confidence to match. It will take training, preparation. But I now know that I can get back [to] the driver who I was.

"And my level of that in 2010 was high, I say this without false modesty."