Kubica: one person is missing, and everything goes wrong
Eric Boullier believes that the absence of Robert Kubica was very detrimental to the Lotus Renault GP team in 2011, much more than the failure of the front-blown exhausts.
The director of the LRGP team, Eric Boullier, believes that the absence of Robert Kubica in 2011 was one of the reasons leading to a difficult year for the Enstone team. The Polish driver, who suffered a serious accident during a rally in Italy in February, was unable to participate in the 2011 Formula 1 season.
He was replaced by Nick Heidfeld, who was subsequently replaced by Bruno Senna, but neither of these two drivers were able to reach the level that Kubica could have. Vitaly Petrov also failed to make his mark in the absence of the Polish driver.
When asked by Autosport about the main reason for LRGP’s failure in 2011, Eric Boullier replied: « Robert, by far. By far because it was a direct sporting loss, given his speed, and it also dealt a huge blow to the team’s morale and everyone involved. »
But you also have an indirect loss – and that was one of Robert’s strengths. It is the mental strength, as well as the team’s commitment to do well and improve. And that… you never know how much it costs you, maybe because the development of the front exhausts could have been done differently with Robert’s return.
The French manager still believes that the difficult times encountered during this year 2011 allowed the team to learn in order to be even stronger in the future.
«This year has been difficult for our guys, for me, and for everyone on the team because it has been very frustrating. But maybe we will analyze more precisely to understand how we can do better.
If the car had been well developed with Robert, then maybe we could have fought in the top 3 of the championship (constructors) and we would have thought ‘Wow, we are in good shape’.
“For me, with this experience, it may look like a disaster but it has been enriching to learn in this way,” Eric Boullier explained to the British magazine.
The future of the Lotus team no longer seems to involve Robert Kubica as the two LRGP team drivers in 2012 will be Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean, and the Pole seems to be getting closer to Scuderia Ferrari, where he could potentially replace Felipe Massa starting from 2013.
