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ROME, Italy - Surgeons are trying to restore the right hand functionality of Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica who was seriously injured in a rally accident in Italy today.
Italian news agency ANSA quoted Kubica's manager, Daniel Morelli, as saying on Sunday that the surgeons had repaired the bone and blood vessel structure of the hand but “must now think about the muscle function”.
Morelli says the 26-year-old Pole is strong and was confident the Renault driver would recover.
Kubica was undergoing the operation in northern Italy only weeks before the start of the new F1 season. He had put in the fastest lap of the three-day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit near Valencia in Spain a few days earlier.
MULTIPLE FRACTURES
He was injured in a crash while heading to the start of the Ronde di Andora rally in Liguria, Italy, ANSA said. The Lotus Renault GP driver from Poland was at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia he was to race in the rally when he left the road at high speed and crashed into a wall.
His co-driver, Jacub Gerber, is reported to have emerged from the wreck unhurt but Kubica remained inside. He was conscious when emergency services removed him.
He was then transferred by helicopter to the Santa Corona hospital in nearby Pietra Ligure, near Savona, suffering from multiple fractures and internal trauma.
His condition was said to be serious and subsequent reports claimed he may be at risk of losing a hand that was crushed in the crash.
His F1 team issued a statement updating his progress.
HIGH-SPEED ACCIDENT
"After undergoing extensive medical tests this morning Robert Kubica has been diagnosed with multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand," it said. “He is currently undergoing surgery at the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure.
"(He) suffered an accident at high speed this morning... The driver was flown hospital where he is undergoing medical checks. His co-driver is fine."
The rally was suspended while Kubica's car was cleared from the road.
It is not the first time the Pole has been involved in a horror crash. He hit a wall at 300km/h during the Canadian GP in 2007.
SPRAINED ANKLE
Driving for Sauber, Kubica slid off the circuit and crashed into a wall, before rebounding across the track in a barrel roll and hitting another barrier.
Kubica, however, was not seriously injured and after being flown to hospital for checks was found to have sustained nothing more serious than a sprained ankle and slight concussion.
He missed only one Grand Prix after the incident. – AP, AFP
Italian news agency ANSA quoted Kubica's manager, Daniel Morelli, as saying on Sunday that the surgeons had repaired the bone and blood vessel structure of the hand but “must now think about the muscle function”.
Morelli says the 26-year-old Pole is strong and was confident the Renault driver would recover.
Kubica was undergoing the operation in northern Italy only weeks before the start of the new F1 season. He had put in the fastest lap of the three-day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit near Valencia in Spain a few days earlier.
MULTIPLE FRACTURES
He was injured in a crash while heading to the start of the Ronde di Andora rally in Liguria, Italy, ANSA said. The Lotus Renault GP driver from Poland was at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia he was to race in the rally when he left the road at high speed and crashed into a wall.
His co-driver, Jacub Gerber, is reported to have emerged from the wreck unhurt but Kubica remained inside. He was conscious when emergency services removed him.
He was then transferred by helicopter to the Santa Corona hospital in nearby Pietra Ligure, near Savona, suffering from multiple fractures and internal trauma.
IT’S HAPPENED BEFORE: The June 10, 2007 crash in which Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica hit the wall at 300km/h during the Canadian Grand Prix at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit in Montreal. He had minor injuries. Watch video.
His F1 team issued a statement updating his progress.
HIGH-SPEED ACCIDENT
"After undergoing extensive medical tests this morning Robert Kubica has been diagnosed with multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand," it said. “He is currently undergoing surgery at the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure.
"(He) suffered an accident at high speed this morning... The driver was flown hospital where he is undergoing medical checks. His co-driver is fine."
The rally was suspended while Kubica's car was cleared from the road.
It is not the first time the Pole has been involved in a horror crash. He hit a wall at 300km/h during the Canadian GP in 2007.
SPRAINED ANKLE
Driving for Sauber, Kubica slid off the circuit and crashed into a wall, before rebounding across the track in a barrel roll and hitting another barrier.
Kubica, however, was not seriously injured and after being flown to hospital for checks was found to have sustained nothing more serious than a sprained ankle and slight concussion.
He missed only one Grand Prix after the incident. – AP, AFP