Renault begin search for Kubica replacement

Tue, 08 Feb 17:05:00 2011

Brazilian Bruno Senna, Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi and Germany's Nick Heidfeld are in the frame to replace injured Robert Kubica at Renault, the Formula One team's principal Eric Boullier said on Tuesday.

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"We will look for Kubica's substitute: the names considered are Senna, Liuzzi and Heidfeld," the Frenchman said after visiting the Pole in hospital in Italy.

"The team is close to Robert, we wait for him with open arms and we hope he can come back before the end of the season," he added.

Senna, who raced for the HRT team last year, is the first reserve at Renault while Liuzzi and the highly experienced Heidfeld are looking for a seat after leaving Force India and Sauber respectively.

Kubica faces more surgery on Thursday after suffering multiple fractures in a rally crash in Italy and is likely to stay in hospital for two to three weeks.

Renault have said he will be out for at least two months but doctors have suggested it could take him a year to recover fully.

Briatore 'pleasantly surprised' by Kubica

Reuters

Comment 90 - 109 of 109

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  1. Sish you right there my friend.

    From downunder, on Fri 11 Feb 16:59

  2. Nick you sure are one ugly mother fu cker.

    From TheRealSish, on Fri 11 Feb 4:13
  3. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    All ways guessing but all ways up the wrong gum tree­ but it is nice to know EVERY SINGLE one of the fools­ who have not a clue . Right click (show) Left click­ (inspect element) and then the brain dead have not a ?­ ucking clue.

    From nickl4d, on Thu 10 Feb 16:52

  4. So they already decided, Heitfield or Senna, seems like­ they just look how they both will perform at tests and­ then choose. Personally I'm for Senna, because its­ unkown and he's hired (that should be honestly),­ and Nick is well-known, yes he is most reliable, but­ too relible. Nonetheless, he's able to make a move,­ remember how he'd overtake Fernando on McLaren..­ but, compare him to Kamui... Renauld must to risk with­ Senna, as they allow risk with Robert.. be consistent­ and push.your line.

    From darkbeer74, on Thu 10 Feb 5:40

  5. why cant Briatore drive he does everthing else ­ he still says @#$% at renault and everone jumps on­ the shovel

    From joao, on Thu 10 Feb 5:01

  6. oops. not what went wrong @ 103/104 ..........anyway ­ I say give Senna a chance to show us what he can do in­ a decent car. The others have had there chance. besides­ Renault would spit him out in no time at all if he does­ not perform.

    From JAYANTILAL, on Thu 10 Feb 3:07

  7. Lets face it . Bruno has not been given a decent chance­ to show us what he can do in F1. With No development at­ all, chopping and changing of seats @ bully boy­ Kolles`s team. How would Kimi have done in a HRT last­ year? Lets compare like for like. During the Honda test­ without any prior experience in F1 he was not far short­ of Jenson Button who had been with them for half a­ decade. If not for Honda pulling out Bruno would have­ given Jenson a run for his money in his championship­ race.. Be fair stop having a go at Bruno until he has­ shown us what he can do in a decent car. Hedfield,­ Liuzzi etc have had plenty plenty of chances now­ please give Bruno a fair shake to show us what he can­ do. After all in this team above all others if one does­ not perform one is chucked out very very quickly. So­ lets see what he can do in a decent car..... And­ while we are on the subject of another who has not had­ a car to show us if he is championship material let­ pray Robert can make a full recovery. Good health Bob

    From JAYANTILAL, on Thu 10 Feb 2:53

  8. Heidfeld would be the best bet. He's never really­ had a good car to show what he can do. When he's­ had a reasonable car he's done well, plenty of­ podium finishes and a pole. Liuzzi and Senna are not in­ the same league.

    From therodders, on Thu 10 Feb 2:38

  9. If Renault do have a fast car, it may suggest its­ better devolped than others, in that case, get the­ fasest driver you can, no time for Senna romance, time­ for WC points......to that end, give Kimi a call. And­ then sack those from the legal team responsible for­ driver contracts. Seams absolute crazy with only­ weeks before the opening GP they loose their No 1 in an­ accident that bore no relevence to F1.

    From Fore, on Thu 10 Feb 2:23

  10. hey take schumacher on loan and put him in renault team

    From Anthony, on Thu 10 Feb 2:00

  11. what about Mansal or better v/ rossi

    From big toby, on Thu 10 Feb 1:56

  12. For once russel I think you're right.
    They should­ take Jenson Button on short term loan from McLaren to­ give them a good chance of wins. This would also allow­ Garry Pafett a chance to shine in the 2nd McL, so a­ win-win situation.

    From the real ade, on Wed 9 Feb 23:22

  13. Personally I don`t think Heidfeld is the answer....he­ had his chance to impress....and didn`t.
    If Renault­ plump for `safety` first in employing a slow, but­ experienced driver they will be kissing the­ constructors title goodbye before the season has­ started because you can`t say that Petrov is going to­ pull any trees up as regards WC points....so they need­ a driver who is faster and more hungry for the win, so­ Heidfeld isn`t the answer.

    From felipeholdstation, on Wed 9 Feb 22:54

  14. If renault wanna play with the big dawgs they got to do­ their best to get Raikkonen in the race ASAP he's­ persona sucks but the man can Drive

    From kimmy g, on Wed 9 Feb 22:52

  15. They should have a different celebrity drive each week,­ like Top Gear.

    From Christopher, on Wed 9 Feb 22:39
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Sebastian Bourdais? Let's see how many thumbs up­ and down he gets! :)

    From Hal Jordan, on Wed 9 Feb 22:24

  17. Can ANY of you tell me a SINGLE thing that Bruno has­ achieved that makes you truly believe he is of the­ calibre to take over from Kubica? He hasn't won­ ANYTHING in ANY racing championship at­ all.....NOTHING!
    Yes, it's romantic to dream of­ Ayrton BUT Bruno is only a Senna in name alone. Stop­ harping on about Bruno like he deserves something. He­ doesn't. He's not earned it or come up through­ a history of achievement. Te fact he is in racing at­ all is down to his famous Uncle and the sponsorship­ that brings.

    From misterb, on Wed 9 Feb 21:47

  18. Its funny how there really isn't a good replacement­ for a driver like Robert. (Same would be for Fernando,­ Lewis etc) Raikonnen yes, but that's out of the­ question. At this point the least of all evils is­ probably Heidfeld, won't crash and somewhat fast.­ But jeez, after the first test Renault and Kubica­ looked to be players, now it will be about scoring some­ points, shame.

    From Martin, on Wed 9 Feb 21:23

  19. I agree give Bruno Senna the chance to prove he can do­ the job in a decent car think of it as a complete new­ start ....

    From Martin, on Wed 9 Feb 21:20
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Come to read some of your comment's i am more and­ more conviced that it should be Bruno Senna.
    Why, as­ somebody said,experiance isn't everything. Look at­ what happend with Ferrari when Philipe was out.First an­ unexperienced driver who didn't make a lot of it­ and than came Fisicella with years and thousend's­ of miles experience and he didn't do one iota­ better than the unexperienced one.
    Give Bruno a chance,­ in 2009 withe the Honda test he came in one afternoon­ within a second of Button who drove the car all season,­ that must mean something don't you agree?

    From Pool, on Wed 9 Feb 20:53
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