Formula 1: Who Could Replace Robert Kubica At Renault?

With Robert Kubica sure to miss the start of the season, maybe even the whole season, Renault face the task of filling some fairly big shoes.

The Pole is the talisman of the team, outperforming his car like few others did last season and with his injury comes a serious dent in the teams 2011 chances.

The new Renault has started brightly, topping the time sheets in Valencia in the hands of Kubica, but it seems they will now have to look elsewhere to fulfil the potential of the car.

Although Renault’s thoughts must currently be with Kubica, there have already been some names of potential replacements flying around and I’ll just run through some of the possibilities.

Bruno Senna seems to be the favourite to get the drive.

The Brazilian who was recently named reserve driver for Renault could well be the one to fill the gap left by Kubica. However, Senna has just one year of experience under his belt and also this was with Hispania in a highly uncompetitive car.

Although being reserve driver he is first in line, Renault might not want to risk having two inexperienced drivers as their line up.

The second option is Romain Grosjean, who is also a reserve driver for the French team. Having raced for them as a replacement for Nelson Piquet a few seasons ago. he is definitely a possibility. But he comes under the same category as Senna, perhaps too inexperienced to be considered.

The risk with choosing Senna or Grosjean is that the team will be without a natural leader, considering Vitaly Petrov has only one season in F1 to his name.

If Renault are looking for experience then there are one or two names that could fill the gap. Pedro De La Rosa has a wealth of wisdom but may lack the speed the team is looking for to fill the role as team leader; Nick Heidfeld may be a better bet, also considering he has been testing the Pirelli tyres and this may prove valuable.

Heidfeld showed last season with Sauber he can still compete at the highest level so is a strong contender for the drive.

The final option I will give is a bit of a long shot, but could Kimi Raikkonen be lured into a comeback by the French team? Raikkonen was linked with Renault at the end of last season, but any rumours were swiftly put to bed.

However, the Finn would bring his natural talent to the table and if Renault are looking for a man as fast as Kubica, he would be perfect.

The downside to Raikkonen is his workrate though and Renault would not get the leadership they get from Kubica.

Renault’s decision will ultimately lie with what they are looking to bring to the team. Could it be the experience of an older driver or will they stick with their youthful reserve drivers. Or will they take the gamble and give Kimi a call? 
 
Who would you choose to replace Kubica at Renault?