Kubica wins 'mental battle' to triumph at Le Mans
Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica has long since tackled the demons of a near-fatal accident 14 years ago but Sunday's victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably his greatest achievement yet.
The 40-year-old Pole roared to victory in his bright yellow "privateer" Ferrari to give the Italian marque a third consecutive win in the most famous endurance race in the world.
In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of a Porsche (#6) driven by Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor.
In so doing they knocked the two factory Ferraris, who started the race as favourites, into third and fourth.
"It's been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one. Grazie mille, grazie a tutti," said Kubica over the team radio as he took the chequered flag.
Kubica was one of Formula One's brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life.
Trapped upside down in his car before being freed and whisked to hospital, Kubica suffered several serious injuries and underwent a partial amputation of his right forearm.
"What happened was very unfortunate, but I was very lucky," he said after Sunday's victory.
"It took me quite a few years, not only to recover physically but also mentally.
"What happened happened and I have to accept it. One of the worst periods of my life was when my mind wouldn't accept the fact that my arm was failing."
He returned to racing cars, however, winning the WRC2 championship and taking part in sports car races. In 2017 he moved back into Formula One, testing for Renault before racing for Williams in 2019.
- 'Greatest achievement' -
But Sunday's win which made him the first Pole ever to win Le Mans tops any of his other achievements behind the wheel.
"It was quite difficult to live with, but I'm happy to have achieved my personal goals," he said.
"The best thing I've achieved in my life - it's nothing to do with racing - it's more the battle I won with my mind."
Both of Kubica's co-drivers were also first-time winners with Ye the first Chinese driver to triumph.
"I'm at a loss for words," said Ye who arrived in Le Mans at the age of 14 on an exchange programme to try and become a professional driver.
"It's going to take me some time to realise everything that's happened today. Right now I feel like I'm dreaming. Maybe in two seconds I'll wake up and none of this will exist.
"In China, the car industry has come a long way. When my father was my age, there were no cars on the roads, and we're talking about the 1990s. Becoming a professional driver was impossible."
With three of the top four, it was certainly a good day for Ferrari but there will undoubtedly be some at headquarters in Maranello who might not be so happy.
As the winning car was not entered directly by the manufacturer, but by the AF Corse team, Ferrari will not take the points for victory in the World Endurance Championship.
Cadillac locked out the front row of the grid but #12 of Will Stephens, who had taken pole, had to settle for fifth with the second car (#38), featuring former Formula One world champion Jensen Button, coming home in eighth.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
McLaren lets Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely despite Canadian GP crash
McLaren will continue to let Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely for the Formula One title but there will be some tough talks back at the factory after this week's collision in Canada. Norris accepted the blame after hitting the rear of his championship-leading Australian teammate's car while trying to overtake in a battle for fourth place three laps from the finish. The incident between the title frontrunners, with Piastri extending his lead to 22 points while Norris failed to score, was the talk of the paddock at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and had been long predicted. McLaren principal Andrea Stella said the team would discuss once the dust had settled how to prevent it from happening again. "Definitely there will be good conversations, but they will happen once we are all rested and calm," the Italian told reporters. He said the team would seek to "preserve our parity and equality in terms of how we go racing at McLaren between our two drivers. "The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing," he said. "It is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time we have a proximity between the two cars then having control from the pit wall. Stella said the points should reflect the drivers' performance rather than any team orders. "This is not necessarily a simple and straight exercise but we want to try and do it as best as we can," he said. "So I don't foresee that today's episode will change our approach from this point of view. "If anything it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers." Stella said the incident was a simple misjudgement of distance rather than an aggressive statement of intent and he appreciated Norris's ownership of responsibility. He recognised the Briton's confidence could be dented, with the driver always open in his emotions and prone to blaming himself in a title battle increasingly going Piastri's way, but Norris could count on every support. "On this one I want to be completely clear," Stella said. "It's full support to Lando. We will have conversations and the conversations may be even tough. But there's no doubt over the support we give to Lando. "Lando himself will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode. Make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver." Piastri has won five of the 10 races so far to Norris's two with 14 remaining. The next race is in Austria on June 29. Reuters
The Advertiser
9 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Piastri and Norris told to 'carry on racing' by McLaren
McLaren will continue to let Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely for the Formula One title but there will be some tough talks back at the factory after Sunday's collision in Canada. Norris accepted the blame after hitting the rear of his championship-leading Australian teammate's car while trying to overtake in a battle for fourth place three laps from the finish. The incident between the title frontrunners, with Piastri extending his lead to 22 points while Norris failed to score, was the talk of the paddock at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and had been long predicted. McLaren principal Andrea Stella said the team would discuss once the dust had settled how to prevent it from happening again. "Definitely there will be good conversations, but they will happen once we are all rested and calm," the Italian told reporters. He said the team would seek to "preserve our parity and equality in terms of how we go racing at McLaren between our two drivers. "The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing," he added. "It is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time we have a proximity between the two cars then having control from the pit wall. "We want to give Lando and Oscar opportunities to race and opportunities to be at the end of the season in the position that they deserve to be in." Stella said the points should reflect the drivers' performance rather than any team orders. "This is not necessarily a simple and straight exercise but we want to try and do it as best as we can," he said. "So I don't foresee that (the) episode will change our approach from this point of view. "If anything it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers." Stella said the incident was a simple misjudgement of distance rather than an aggressive statement of intent and he appreciated Norris' ownership of responsibility. He recognised the Briton's confidence could be dented, with the driver always open in his emotions and prone to blaming himself in a title battle increasingly going Piastri's way, but Norris could count on every support. "On this one I want to be completely clear," said Stella. "It's full support to Lando. We will have conversations and the conversations may be even tough. But there's no doubt over the support we give to Lando. "Lando himself will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode. Make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver." Piastri has won five of the 10 races so far to Norris' two with 14 remaining. The next race is in Austria on June 29. McLaren will continue to let Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely for the Formula One title but there will be some tough talks back at the factory after Sunday's collision in Canada. Norris accepted the blame after hitting the rear of his championship-leading Australian teammate's car while trying to overtake in a battle for fourth place three laps from the finish. The incident between the title frontrunners, with Piastri extending his lead to 22 points while Norris failed to score, was the talk of the paddock at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and had been long predicted. McLaren principal Andrea Stella said the team would discuss once the dust had settled how to prevent it from happening again. "Definitely there will be good conversations, but they will happen once we are all rested and calm," the Italian told reporters. He said the team would seek to "preserve our parity and equality in terms of how we go racing at McLaren between our two drivers. "The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing," he added. "It is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time we have a proximity between the two cars then having control from the pit wall. "We want to give Lando and Oscar opportunities to race and opportunities to be at the end of the season in the position that they deserve to be in." Stella said the points should reflect the drivers' performance rather than any team orders. "This is not necessarily a simple and straight exercise but we want to try and do it as best as we can," he said. "So I don't foresee that (the) episode will change our approach from this point of view. "If anything it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers." Stella said the incident was a simple misjudgement of distance rather than an aggressive statement of intent and he appreciated Norris' ownership of responsibility. He recognised the Briton's confidence could be dented, with the driver always open in his emotions and prone to blaming himself in a title battle increasingly going Piastri's way, but Norris could count on every support. "On this one I want to be completely clear," said Stella. "It's full support to Lando. We will have conversations and the conversations may be even tough. But there's no doubt over the support we give to Lando. "Lando himself will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode. Make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver." Piastri has won five of the 10 races so far to Norris' two with 14 remaining. The next race is in Austria on June 29. McLaren will continue to let Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely for the Formula One title but there will be some tough talks back at the factory after Sunday's collision in Canada. Norris accepted the blame after hitting the rear of his championship-leading Australian teammate's car while trying to overtake in a battle for fourth place three laps from the finish. The incident between the title frontrunners, with Piastri extending his lead to 22 points while Norris failed to score, was the talk of the paddock at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and had been long predicted. McLaren principal Andrea Stella said the team would discuss once the dust had settled how to prevent it from happening again. "Definitely there will be good conversations, but they will happen once we are all rested and calm," the Italian told reporters. He said the team would seek to "preserve our parity and equality in terms of how we go racing at McLaren between our two drivers. "The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing," he added. "It is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time we have a proximity between the two cars then having control from the pit wall. "We want to give Lando and Oscar opportunities to race and opportunities to be at the end of the season in the position that they deserve to be in." Stella said the points should reflect the drivers' performance rather than any team orders. "This is not necessarily a simple and straight exercise but we want to try and do it as best as we can," he said. "So I don't foresee that (the) episode will change our approach from this point of view. "If anything it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers." Stella said the incident was a simple misjudgement of distance rather than an aggressive statement of intent and he appreciated Norris' ownership of responsibility. He recognised the Briton's confidence could be dented, with the driver always open in his emotions and prone to blaming himself in a title battle increasingly going Piastri's way, but Norris could count on every support. "On this one I want to be completely clear," said Stella. "It's full support to Lando. We will have conversations and the conversations may be even tough. But there's no doubt over the support we give to Lando. "Lando himself will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode. Make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver." Piastri has won five of the 10 races so far to Norris' two with 14 remaining. The next race is in Austria on June 29. McLaren will continue to let Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely for the Formula One title but there will be some tough talks back at the factory after Sunday's collision in Canada. Norris accepted the blame after hitting the rear of his championship-leading Australian teammate's car while trying to overtake in a battle for fourth place three laps from the finish. The incident between the title frontrunners, with Piastri extending his lead to 22 points while Norris failed to score, was the talk of the paddock at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and had been long predicted. McLaren principal Andrea Stella said the team would discuss once the dust had settled how to prevent it from happening again. "Definitely there will be good conversations, but they will happen once we are all rested and calm," the Italian told reporters. He said the team would seek to "preserve our parity and equality in terms of how we go racing at McLaren between our two drivers. "The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing," he added. "It is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time we have a proximity between the two cars then having control from the pit wall. "We want to give Lando and Oscar opportunities to race and opportunities to be at the end of the season in the position that they deserve to be in." Stella said the points should reflect the drivers' performance rather than any team orders. "This is not necessarily a simple and straight exercise but we want to try and do it as best as we can," he said. "So I don't foresee that (the) episode will change our approach from this point of view. "If anything it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers." Stella said the incident was a simple misjudgement of distance rather than an aggressive statement of intent and he appreciated Norris' ownership of responsibility. He recognised the Briton's confidence could be dented, with the driver always open in his emotions and prone to blaming himself in a title battle increasingly going Piastri's way, but Norris could count on every support. "On this one I want to be completely clear," said Stella. "It's full support to Lando. We will have conversations and the conversations may be even tough. But there's no doubt over the support we give to Lando. "Lando himself will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode. Make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver." Piastri has won five of the 10 races so far to Norris' two with 14 remaining. The next race is in Austria on June 29.
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Perth Now
Piastri and Norris told to 'carry on racing' by McLaren
McLaren will continue to let Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race freely for the Formula One title but there will be some tough talks back at the factory after Sunday's collision in Canada. Norris accepted the blame after hitting the rear of his championship-leading Australian teammate's car while trying to overtake in a battle for fourth place three laps from the finish. The incident between the title frontrunners, with Piastri extending his lead to 22 points while Norris failed to score, was the talk of the paddock at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and had been long predicted. McLaren principal Andrea Stella said the team would discuss once the dust had settled how to prevent it from happening again. "Definitely there will be good conversations, but they will happen once we are all rested and calm," the Italian told reporters. He said the team would seek to "preserve our parity and equality in terms of how we go racing at McLaren between our two drivers. "The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing," he added. "It is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time we have a proximity between the two cars then having control from the pit wall. "We want to give Lando and Oscar opportunities to race and opportunities to be at the end of the season in the position that they deserve to be in." Stella said the points should reflect the drivers' performance rather than any team orders. "This is not necessarily a simple and straight exercise but we want to try and do it as best as we can," he said. "So I don't foresee that (the) episode will change our approach from this point of view. "If anything it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers." Stella said the incident was a simple misjudgement of distance rather than an aggressive statement of intent and he appreciated Norris' ownership of responsibility. He recognised the Briton's confidence could be dented, with the driver always open in his emotions and prone to blaming himself in a title battle increasingly going Piastri's way, but Norris could count on every support. "On this one I want to be completely clear," said Stella. "It's full support to Lando. We will have conversations and the conversations may be even tough. But there's no doubt over the support we give to Lando. "Lando himself will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode. Make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver." Piastri has won five of the 10 races so far to Norris' two with 14 remaining. The next race is in Austria on June 29.
