Ugly Bobby: The portrait of Robert Kubica

Big nose. Late braking in the corners. Passionate poker player. Pure racer. There are a couple of things that can describe Robert Kubica perfectly. With latest rumors about Fernando Alonso joining Ferrari, you naturally start to think who could join him. And they point out Bobby.

In Turkey, thanks to Rubens and Kazuki, Robert left the “elite” No Points Drivers Club, with two points for seventh place. What happened with the guy, which was voted Driver of the 2008 season?

Bringing his past achievements would be boring; however we all know that when you come to F1, your titles don’t matter at all. Am I right, monsieur Bourdais?

Many people think that with his fluent Italian and love for this country he would be natural in Ferrari. I have a few doubts about that.

Robert is not a team spirit, unless not as much as Lewis or Fernando. He does not care in which team he drives, as long as he has a car. When asked about Rosberg joining him in BMW, he simply answered that it doesn’t matter if it’s Nick or Nico.

It is nice that he does not give this annoying polite crap, but he shouldn’t be surprised that Nick didn’t give him his position that would keep his third place in 2008 championship.

One of the main thing that brought successes for Michael, Fernando, Mika, Lewis and now Jenson is their family attitude and involvement in their teams. They were winning as a team, they were loosing as a team.

Robert is not afraid to complain, and there was a time last season, when he went a little bit too far, giving post-race interviews directly blaming BMW team for loosing his title hopes.   Remembering Prost, Ferrari would behave in certainly different way than BMW.

Although it is understandable, especially that there was a slim chance of clinching the championship, BMW after Canada moved everything for this season, and we can see the results of this decision. But still, any complains you say directly to your boss’s face, not to the media.

So what makes Kubica special? Well, we can have one Ice-Man that may not care about his image, but unlike with Kimi, you won’t find Robert’s photos, posing with his girlfriend in his mansion, and it’s very hard to get something personal from him. He does not recognize actors on the grid, because he falls asleep in the cinema. He does not read any books or newspapers, and finds snooker interesting.

Leaving Mr. Hyde apart, Robert has one very important virtue. He is in F1 for racing, and racing only. He knows exactly what he wants, and he knew this since he was a little kid. In critical moments, he is able to leave emotions and make a cold analysis.

Many compare his driving style to Lewis, however Robert is less aggressive and barely make any mistakes. He has understeer while entering the corners, full throttle while exiting them. Lewis likes oversteer, and does not cut the corners, he goes more around. They both brake late, using the engine and both are very good in the rain.

But off-track Robert is totally different from Lewis, and from other drivers. Celebrity freak- show does not turn him on. You won’t see him on catwalk in Monaco. You won’t spot his family jumping around him in garage.

His girlfriend Edyta is very modest, she’s not giving “I’m proud of my hunny-bunny the racer” interviews. Or any interviews. He believes in God, but does not wear “I belong to Jesus” shirt.

People can say many things about Robert, but as long it does not refer to his racing, he seriously doesn’t care. In today’s world, when athletes are in the same corner with celebrities, it’s nice to have someone who knows what is important and is able to fully concentrate on it. Robert is that kind of person. So what do you think about him and Fernando in Ferrari?

P.S. In reality he’s not ugly at all. He’s quite cute actually.