Wolff would welcome Kubica back to Formula 1

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has spoken of his desire to see his friend Robert Kubica return to Formula 1.

The Polish driver was badly injured in a rallying accident in 2011 which curtailed his Grand Prix career. Prior to that Kubica had made 76 race starts with BMW Sauber and Renault, and he won the Canadian GP in 2008.

The severity of the injuries to his arm and hand meant doctors considered it unlikely Kubica would race again. However he's since forged a career in rally racing in WRC and ERC, and this year had two private tests with Renault in a 2012 F1 car.

"I hear the tests are running very well," Wolff remarked in an online question and answer session with Mercedes fans. "I think he found his way around coping with the hand that is not functioning so well.

"I would really enjoy seeing him back in Formula 1," he said. "He deserves that.

"He is one of the talents that wasn't able to show what he could can do. He had that one win, he was just coming up and then he had this freak accident in a rally."

'I can get back to the driver I was before,' insists Kubica

There have been rumours that Renault might put Kubica into a 2017-spec car at Hungary - either in free practice before the race, or in the official in-season test session the following week.

Renault are tight-lipped about the suggestion, and Wolff wouldn't be drawn on whether he thought Kubica would be physically up to the challenge.

"He is fit and in good spirits, which is nice," the Mercedes boss commented, adding that he had recently run into Kubica bu accident.

"I know Robert very well. I have known him since 2002, since Formula Renault. We speak Polish. I actually had a funny moment with him.

I was doing the Mille Miglia with Aldo a few weeks ago. We were stopping in a village just before the Italian mountains and there were a lot of people asking for selfies.

"One guy was saying 'Please, a selfie!' I looked up and it was Robert! I asked 'What are you doing here?'

"Then we disappeared into a coffee shop. I was so happy to see him!"

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.