Метка: Robert Kubica

Kubica set to return with customer Ferrari Hypercar in 2024 WEC

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Formula 1 race winner Robert Kubica is looking increasingly certain to remain with the AF Corse customer Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Kubica told Motorsport.com that he «didn’t come here for just one year» when questioned after last weekend’s 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain about whether he would race the yellow-liveried Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar again.

But he stressed that «there is a lot of work to do» for next year at a team that claimed victory at Austin in September but failed to consistently match the factory arm of the AF team over the season.

«It is not an easy decision, so we will see,» he said.

Kubica, who partnered Ferrari factory drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman in AF’s satellite entry in 2024, had discussions with team boss Amato Ferrari over the course of the WEC finale in Bahrain last weekend.

Ferrari explained that he was hopeful that Kubica will remain with the team next year.

«Everything is positive and we all want Robert back, but no deal is done,» he said.

Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s head of sportscar racing, also expressed hopes that Kubica will stay, saying «Our dream is to maintain Robert with us».

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Kubica remained with AF at the Bahrain International Circuit on the day after the WEC race for Phil Hanson’s first test in the Ferrari he will race in the WEC next year.

The Briton, who is swapping over from the British Jota customer Porsche team when it becomes Cadillac’s factory WEC squad, is the first driver to be announced for the #83 AF entry for next year.

Shwartzman is leaving Ferrari at the end of this year, Coletta confirmed.

He explained that the 25-year-old will depart both the line-up at AF and Ferrari’s roster of factory drivers after he «decided to make another choice».

Shwartzman, who has been a Ferrari Formula 1 reserve since 2023 after graduating from the Italian manufacturer’s academy programme, will be announced as the team-mate of the already confirmed Callum Ilott at Prema’s new IndyCar team imminently.

Ye, who became a factory Ferrari driver for this season, is expected to remain in the line-up of the #83 car.



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Ferrari AF Corse sneaks past Toyota for win

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In a thrilling finish to Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans six-hour race on the Circuit of The Americas, a customer AF Corse-run 499P driven by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Robert Shwartzman at Austin took the win after a battle with Toyota. All mere hours after Charles Leclerc’s Italian Grand Prix victory at Monza earlier in the day.

Shwartzman inherited the lead from the No. 7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH with 40 minutes of the race to run when Kamui Kobayashi took a drive-through penalty for a yellow-flag infringement. The Japanese driver, teamed with Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries, came out of the pits nine seconds behind the Ferrari but quickly made up ground. Kobayashi was still closing at the end, but ran out of time, ending up just 1.7 seconds behind at the checkered flag.

That closeness emphasized a pulse-pounding late stage of the race. Toyota appeared to have a win in the bag as the race entered its final stages, having managed to get the undercut on the yellow Ferrari, which had led the majority of the first two thirds of the Lone Star Le Mans. 

Kobayashi took the wheel for the final two hours and pulled way from Shwartzman, building up a lead of 10 seconds only to lose it as penance for ignoring yellow flags at Turn 11.

The No. 83 AF CORSE Ferrari 499P Hypercar

The No. 83 AF CORSE Ferrari 499P Hypercar

Photo by: JEP

Third place at COTA went to the Le Mans-winning factory Ferrari crew of Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, and Antonio Fuoco. They lacked the pace of the sister works 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessasndro Pier Guidi — but the second 499P posted a rare retirement for the factory team. Driveline issues (that followed a collision with an LMGT3 runner that had damaged a wheel rim) and then a spin while Giovinazzi was lapping one of the Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMHs conspired against the team.

Cadillac took fourth — its best result of the season — with the Ganassi-run V-Series.R shared by Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn.

Alpine followed in fifth in the A424 LMDh shared by Ferdinand Habsburg, Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi. They fought back from an early penalty after Habsburg locked up on the first lap and was penalized for the contact with Bamber at Turn 12 at the end of the long back straight.

The Signatech-run Alpine benefitted from a late penalty for Kevin Estre in the championship-leading Porsche 963 LMDh for a yellow-flag infringement, which left the Penske-run car co-driven by Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer sixth at the flag.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar of Earl Bamber, and Alex Lynn

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar of Earl Bamber, and Alex Lynn

Photo by: JEP

Vanthoor, Lotterer, and Estre fought through the field from 14th on the grid — with Estre surviving a clash with Sebastien Buemi in the second Toyota in the race’s fifth hour. Buemi, on an outlap, made contact with the Porsche as he moved over on the back straight to protect his position. He continued to move to the left, resulting in a second contact. The Toyota sustained a rear puncture and bodywork damage, before being given a 30-second stop-go penalty for causing a collision that left the car 15th and last of the classified finishers in Hypercar.

The best of the WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDhs — the No. 20 car driven by Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde — was also hit with a late penalty of 100s for an energy in infringement. It lost a top-six position as a result, ending up in 13th at the finish.

The LMGT3 class was dominated by the American-flagged Heart of Racing Aston Martin squad. Its Vantage GT3 crewed by Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas crossed the line with almost half a minute in hand over its nearest competitor to take the victory. Bronze-rated James, who’s also Heart of Racing’s team principal, laid the foundation for the squad’s first WEC victory since joining the series last year. The Briton converted pole position in the race lead and raced away from Sarah Bovy in the Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan EVO2.

The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P failed to finish

The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P failed to finish

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Heart of Racing’s run to victory was made easier when a clash between the Iron Lynx-run Lamborghini (which Bovy shared with Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting) and the best of the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R (the No. 81 entry driven by Tom van Rompuy, Rui Andrade, and Charlie Eastwood) took both cars from contention.

That allowed the two Manthey-run Porsche 911 GT3-Rs — running 1-2 in the class points coming into the Austin race — to come through to claim second and third positions. All in spite of receiving a Balance of Performance hit and carrying significant success balance.

Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm, and Klaus Bachler took second with 30 kg of success ballast, while the sister car of Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring, and Richard Lietz took third with 25 kg after the Shahin received a drive-through for a track limits violation.

Vanthoor, Lotterer, and Estre still lead the championship on 125 points; Molina, Nielsen, Fuoco and de Vries and Kobayashi tied on 113 points.



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Kubica keen for rally comeback but only for fun

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Robert Kubica says he misses rallying but would only consider a return to the discipline in the future for «fun» rather than competition.

The one-time Formula 1 race winner and now AF Corse Ferrari Hypercar driver in the World Endurance Championship continues to follow the World Rally Championship closely, having competed in the series from 2013-16.

Kubica has long admired rallying before he rose to fame in F1, while he also won the 2013 WRC2 championship before competing in the top class across the next two seasons, driving an M-Sport-built Ford Fiesta, recording 14 stage wins and a best result of sixth in Argentina in 2014.

After making a final start in 2016, Kubica returned to F1 with Williams in 2019 which then led to a spell in the DTM before a move into sportscar racing and the WEC in 2021.

There has been speculation of a rally comeback for Kubica who attended the WRC’s visit to his native Poland earlier this month.

When asked if he would like to make a return in the future, he told Motorsport.com: «Honestly, I miss rallies a bit. I’m a big fan of them. But now I have my own things to do in my racing programme so since I stopped rallying in early 2016, I see the rallies more from a fan perspective, a supporter.

«I follow what’s going on [in WRC]. I follow the rallies more than anything else.

Robert Kubica, Subaru Impreza WRC

Robert Kubica, Subaru Impreza WRC

Photo by: Andre Vor / Sutton Images

«If [a return] could be a bit of fun then yes, but not in the spirit of competition. Of course, there are some rallies on the calendar that I watch, and I think it would be nice to do. But then I remember how much effort and preparation goes into it. But if you go into it for fun, you can be part of a rally without any real pressure.»

Kubica is now part of the booming WEC scene that has witnessed significant growth in manufacturer interest with nine marques now represented in the Hypercar/LMDh class. This has indirectly resulted in the Pole landing a seat in an AF Corse-run Ferrari Hypercar, following the Italian marque’s return long-awaited return to the championship last year.

Having seen the explosion of manufacturer interest in WEC, Kubica hopes the WRC can experience something similar and believes rallying continues to offer fans and manufacturers «something special».

But as the 12-time F1 podium finisher gears up for WEC’s visit to Brazil this weekend, he admits there is a lot of work required for rallying to enjoy a similar boom period.

«It’s a complex topic and it will require the involvement of different parties,» said Kubica, when asked how the WRC could follow in the WEC’s footsteps.

«I think what is happening now [in WRC] is not something to do with the current days it is a trend that probably started when I was in WRC. Unfortunately, in modern life, people tend to appreciate different kinds of sports and way of racing generally in motorsport.

Andreas Mikkelsen, Torstein Eriksen, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Andreas Mikkelsen, Torstein Eriksen, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Tomasz Kalinski

«I still think that rallies offer something special, especially from a fan’s perspective. In the WEC, there has been a big boost in manufacturers in the last two years and the level has gone massively up.

«Manufacturers are attracting other manufacturers, and this is what rallying has struggled to attract new manufacturers and, as I say, this is a complex topic, but fortunately I don’t have to think about it.

«But from a fan’s perspective I would like to see something like what has happened in WEC, it would be very special and beneficial for everyone. This hasn’t happened for a long time. I know people are trying and I think there is not one single silver bullet, but it will require work to try and improve things.»



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Vanthoor claims Kubica pushed him off on purpose in race-ending Le Mans clash

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BMW driver Dries Vanthoor believes AF Corse Ferrari rival Robert Kubica deliberately pushed him off the track while trying to lap him during the night at last weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

Vanthoor has expressed his disappointment at what he believes was a lack of respect from the one-time Formula 1 race winner after he was sent to the medical centre for check-ups due to the sizeable impact from their collision.

Speaking on the ‘Over the limit’ podcast he jointly hosts with brother and Porsche factory driver Laurens, Vanthoor said: «I personally think yes, that he did it on purpose because the way he tried to defend himself was wrong.

«The way he did not care about me after the crash, or did not show any respect or just human being to me, also showed to me that it was on purpose. Just not caring, just not coming to see how I was doing.

«I had a small concussion, I have a little thing on my left foot. Not doing any effort to even send a text and know how I am doing [was disappointing].

 

«If I had a crash with someone and I would know he is hurt or he has to go the medical centre, you would just be respectful. I know we are racing and we want to race hard. This was just very unrespectful [sic] and for me not done and something you don’t do in racing. It’s completely wrong.

«You should show respect. We all want to be safe, it’s the number one priority of every organiser, FIA, ACO, SRO. It’s the number one priority in racing.

«Even if he was pissed off, even if it was my own mistake of the crash, which let’s be completely straight, it wasn’t at all, I would have still said something.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

«I would have said, ‘sorry mate, I turned into you’. But he just turned to the right like nobody was there and I was driving there, driving completely straight.»

Vanthoor was trying to stay on the lead lap in his WRT-run #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the ninth hour, having just switched from wet tyres to slicks, when he encountered the race-leading #83 satellite Ferrari 499P of Kubica on the Mulsanne straight.

The Belgian driver missed the second chicane on cold tyres and had to take to the escape road before rejoining the track, putting him in the thick of the fight with Kubica — who previously raced for WRT in LMP2 — and the #92 Porsche GT3 car.

But as the ex-F1 driver tried to jump both approaching the braking zone for the right-hand Mulsanne Corner, he jinked to the right and clipped Vanthoor’s BMW, pitching him head-on into the barriers on the left-hand side of the road.

Such was the intensity of the impact that the car bounced back and skated to the inside side of the track, before coming to a rest with heavy damage to the front-end.

The collision between Vanthoor and Kubica marked a premature end to BMW’s race, with the sister #20 car having already been sent back to the garage following a separate accident when Robin Frijns crashed at the Ford Chicane.

The stewards deemed Kubica guilty of causing the crash and handed him a 30-second stop/go penalty, a sanction that was described as too lenient by WRT boss Vincent Vosse.

Explaining the moments in the lead-up to the crash, Vanthoor said: «Going into the second chicane, there was a Ford just in front of us.

«So I was like, f**k I need to get by this Ford. So we braked for the corner, just behind the Ford. I braked at the same point as him.

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

Photo by: BMW AG

«But I was like ‘I need to get this Ford between us [so] I don’t have the blue flag’ because he needs to pass the Ford first. But I was on the inside on cold tyres on the wet part of the track and I didn’t make the corner.

«I went on power again [after the chicane] and he had a run on me again.

«I tried to use the Porsche to slow him down, but it didn’t work because he had such a run, so I was fair in that way to make the space and let go the Porsche by to not make it dangerous.

«And unfortunately, he decided to make it more dangerous and pushed me off the road. That was it actually.»

Vanthoor revealed that he received a lot of hate messages in the aftermath of the accident on social media, with many accusing him of not respecting blue flags when a faster Ferrari was on his tail.

While he did admit that he had been instructed to do everything it took to stay on the lead lap to remain in the hunt for a top result, the 2017 GTE Am class winner at Le Mans claimed he had enough time under the regulations before letting Kubica through.

«They [BMW] told me it’s going to be crucial to keep the car behind to stay on the lead lap, because when you are not on the lead lap, unless there is a safety car then it’s very difficult to get your lap back,» he added.

«When you are lap down, it’s very very tough to impossible to do something.

«For all the haters who said ‘why you exceeded blue flags’, I saw the replays and I saw there was a blue flag. But when you are in a battle or in the moment I honestly did not see [it].

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor

Photo by: BMW AG

«And even if I had seen it, I wouldn’t have done anything because the rule is in WEC you have one sector or two time to let somebody go for blue flags.

«Maybe I fully did not respect the rule, but the rule said I had two sectors to let somebody by. I didn’t try to let him by, but people can stop saying this because it’s bullshit.»

On his part, Kubica denied that he caused the incident on purpose, stating that any attempt at touching another car at high speed would have jeopardised his own chances for victory.

«Firstly, I’m not the sort of person who would swerve into another car at 300kph, leading in a race and with 18 hours to go,» he said in an interview with Mikolaj Sokol for Motowizja.

«By swerving into him I would be the one risking ending up in the barriers on the right. That’s the first argument.

«The second argument is that if it had been me [causing the collision], my car should have moved much earlier, not just after contact. And that was not the case.»

Kubica also hit back at Vanthoor for not respecting blue flags or letting him by easily when he was about to drop a lap down, saying: «I come from a championship where you have respect for other drivers, especially the leaders, especially when you are being lapped.

«On the other hand, there are also championships, and apparently that’s what Dries races in, where the blue flags and the rules and regulations don’t give a damn [about them]. I’m fortunate enough to have grown up in those first championships.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica

Photo by: Marc Fleury

«However, there are drivers in slower cars who want to prove themselves at all costs. I don’t know why.

«I know Dries has been instructed to stay on the lead lap at all costs. Well if someone tells me to jump from the eighth floor, for example, an engineer, I won’t do it. But apparently there are drivers who would do it.»

The #83 499P Kubica shared with Ferrari factory drivers Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye retired with just over three hours to run due to hybrid issues.

You can listen in full to the Vanthoor brothers’ podcast here.

Additional reporting by Tomasz Kalinski

Watch: 2024 Le Mans 24hrs Analysis — Ferrari Rain Supreme



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Le Mans-leading Ferrari slapped with big penalty for Kubica’s BMW clash

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AF Corse driver Robert Kubica was trying to put a lap on Dries Vanthoor in the seventh hour of the race when he side-swiped the BMW at the end of the Mulsanne straight, sending the car head-on into the barriers.

The contact with the armco sent Vanthoor spinning to the other side of the track, where he came to a rest with severe damage to the front of the car.

The #15 BMW retired immediately on the spot, with the race control deploying a safety car to help with the recovery of the vehicle.

The stewards began investigating the incident soon afterwards, but it wasn’t until after the safety car period had ended in the ninth hour that a decision was announced.

It was deemed that Kubica was responsible for the collision, with the #83 Ferrari 499P he shares with factory drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman being handed a 30-second stop/go penalty.

The sanction is set to drop the car from the lead of the race, as the safety car had bunched up the field and wiped out its entire lead — which stood at the best part of a minute at one point.

The #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Ryo Hirakawa looks poised to move to the front after Kubica takes to the pitlane to serve the penalty.

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

Photo by: Marc Fleury

The factory #50 Ferrari that also didn’t pit for wet tyres at that point will now take over as the lead 499P on track.

The collision between the #83 Ferrari and the #15 BMW, which followed not long after Vanthoor had gone off at the second Mulsanne chicane, further wrecked the German manufacturer’s chances of a strong finish on its return to the top class at Le Mans after 25 years.

The #15 M Hybrid V8 had already dropped off the lead lap after Marco Wittmann suffered a crash in the opening hour, prompting an unscheduled visit to the pits.

The sister #20 entry also had its own share of drama, with Robin Frijns heavily damaging the car after clipping the kerb at the Ford Chicane in Hour 3. 

Frijns managed to complete a full lap of the track and bring the car back into the pits, but it remains in the garage at the time of writing.



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