F1’s ‘greatest lost talent’ was set to join Ferrari before Lewis Hamilton but horror hit | F1 | Sport

‘What could’ve been?’ is a question levelled at certain sportsmen and women all the time. There’s a fine line between greatness and obscurity, with professional athletes needing luck on their side, as well as ability.

Every sport has its best lost talent, but as far as Formula One is concerned, there’s only one man worthy of such a title. At least, that’s how Ted Kravitz sees it, with the Formula One pundit naming who he believes was the one that got away.

The man in question is Robert Kubica, who originally made his Formula One debut in 2006. The Polish driver got his big break when Jacques Villeneuve suffered an untimely crash, with Kubica going on to finish sixth in his first full season.

However, a rallying accident before the 2011 campaign would derail his entire Formula One career. Kravitz has claimed Kubica was even on the verge of joining Ferrari, but his time behind the wheel went down a completely different path altogether.

Writing in his book, F1 Insider, Kravitz said: “In many ways, Kubica is F1’s greatest lost talent. He was quite simply incredibly quick. Ferrari appreciated how good he was and, encouraged by Fernando Alonso, offered Kubica a provisional race contract to give the Maranello squad the first call on his services for the 2012 season as a potential replacement for Felipe Massa. All he had to do was to see out one more year in a midfield Renault, and he’d likely move to Ferrari.”

It might not have been the career in motorsports that Kubica was hoping for, but he has gone on to achieve some impressive things, including a victory in Le Mans last year. Speaking after the achievement, he explained: “I don’t think my limitations are limiting behind the wheel.

“I think if someone had doubts in the past I showed those doubts should not be in place. I’m driving and I’m happy. I remember when I was rejoining F1, there was a lot of rumours and I understand: You see my hand. It’s normal to ask questions… if I’m capable, if it’s safe.

“And there was some very extreme quotes of some people which hurt me because I’m the first one who would never like to be back just for marketing or a being a PR muppet.”