Would Robert Kubica have a chance at becoming a World Champion if he was still racing

[Hugh Jorgasm]

The title explains the question, excuse the absence of a question mark as I ran out of text space.



--Trivia: Who is the only Portuguese driver to get an F1 podium?

[N4D13]

Yes. Tiago Monteiro.

[Rollo]

No.

The key date is 2013 when Hamilton moved from McLaren to Mercedes. Would Mercedes have picked Kubica over Hamilton? Let's assume that they did.
Is Kubica a better driver than Rosberg? I don't think so. If Kubica isn't a better driver than Rosberg, then he wouldn't be World Champion.

The Red Bulls were the best ticket for a while but those two seats were solidly filled. If Kubica had gone to Ferrari, he'd have still been behind the Red Bulls in the same way that Alonso was.

[Storm]

Like rollo said, his best chance would have been in a RBR during the Vettel/Webber years or Mercedes since 14 (till 17 atleast). So it all depends on being at the right place and right time (Alonso should take note :) )

Talented guy, but unfortunately I don't see him as WDC.

[zako85]

The 2012 and 2013 Lotus cars were surprisingly successful. Assuming Kubica stayed at Lotus those years, we can assume that he would have been the team leader, so Raikkonen wouldn't have been at Lotus. And then in 2014, he could have done what Raikkonen actually did, move it Ferrari. So yeah, he wouldn't have won't WDC by now, but he could have had a few good races in some of those cars.

[jens]

Is Kubica a better driver than Rosberg? I don't think so. If Kubica isn't a better driver than Rosberg, then he wouldn't be World Champion..

It is hard to say, but IMO Kubica may well have been better than Rosberg. He was a remote title contender in the third best car in 2008.

It is a shame that we lost Kubica for F1 - he was a real talent.

As mentioned, he would have certainly collected some impressive results in the 2012-2013 Lotus cars.

As for WDC. You need the right cars to achieve it. So unlikely.

[jens]

The 2012 and 2013 Lotus cars were surprisingly successful. Assuming Kubica stayed at Lotus those years, we can assume that he would have been the team leader, so Raikkonen wouldn't have been at Lotus. And then in 2014, he could have done what Raikkonen actually did, move it Ferrari. So yeah, he wouldn't have won't WDC by now, but he could have had a few good races in some of those cars.

The Ferrari link is interesting. I remember back in 2010 there were claims Ferrari was interested in him and Alonso and Kubica were friends. With Ferrari we know one thing - usually they have long-term plans or ideas, who they'd like to hire. Vettel to Ferrari was on the cards already many years before it materialized. So Kubica joining Ferrari after a stint in Lotus sounds plausible.

[Matt Phelps]

Think of it this way.

2008 - BMW Sauber: Very good, grabbed his first ever win - only ever!
2009 - " " Still very good, fought with the Red Bulls and Ferraris, very strong.
2010 - Renault: Still strong, despite being in a car with arguably less performance than the one he had last year.
2011 - " ": Let's imagine he never had that rally accident, he would've fought really well alongside Petrov, in another competitive car.
2012 - Probably Renault: I can see him staying, the car was again strong. I feel he could've grabbed another win by this point.
2013 - This is where it gets interesting. Would he have signed for McLaren instead of Perez? If so and he stayed then he would've been a contender for the title, although arguably weaker than Button.

[zako85]

2011 - " ": Let's imagine he never had that rally accident, he would've fought really well alongside Petrov, in another competitive car.

2011 was a bit of a letdown year for Lotus. They started the first two races with a couple of podiums, but after that the development of the other cars outpaced Lotus so bad that in Singapore GP, the Lotus was only barely faster than "the other Lotus" (Caterham) and usually struggled to score any points. Petrov complained once that the car hasn't been developed much of the year, and he was supposedly fired for that (Boulier's official statement was that Petrov didn't perform).

[zako85]

I don't recall those years with great detail, but it does seem that Kubica had impressed sufficiently to speculate that he was going to be a future great. It is sad that we will never find out.

[jens]

I don't recall those years with great detail, but it does seem that Kubica had impressed sufficiently to speculate that he was going to be a future great. It is sad that we will never find out.

I have to say that I can't say for sure Kubica was a match to Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel as a driver, but his 2008 and 2010 campaigns were very much top-notch. I would have rated him as a top 5 driver on the grid certainly.