Kubica says left-handed driving style suits him

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Williams test and development driver Robert Kubica has admitted that he now drives predominantly left-handed as a result of the injuries he sustained in a rallying accident in 2011.

The injuries to his right arm had meant it appeared highly unlikely that the Pole would ever return to Formula 1. But he explained how he had adapted over the years until the point where it was no longer an issue.

"When I started testing with simulators, I asked my doctor if it's possible I have much better sensitivity, more precision in my left arm," he told this week's Autosport magazine.

"Last year, I was asked by Renault to go to a medical centre where they test a lot of that stuff," he continued.

"My results for precision and speed and force of the left arm was at least 35 per cent better than the best they have ever seen.

"Somehow, your body adapts to reality. If you are two-handed, healthy, you don't need to be so precise with one arm.

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"[But] when I'm driving, I'm driving around 70 per cent left-handed and 30 per cent right," he revealed. "If I were to try to do fifty-fifty like the old days, I would not manage it.

"This is the way I have to do it," he said. "I cannot try to do the things I used to do because, with my limitation, I'm not able to do it.

"Everything I tried to do in the same way I got disappointed. But then I realised I could still do them in different ways."

But this approach is not just a consequence of the Ronde di Andora rallying accident that nearly ended his life. In fact the preference for using his left hand preceded that life-changing incident.

He recalled an incident before the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix when he had been forced to drive practically single-handed while coping with damage to his car.

"In 2010, I was doing Eau Rouge with Renault in qualifying with one hand because I was covering the hole to stop the rear wing," Kubica said.

"I was going through Eau Rouge one-handed," he added. "This was much more dangerous than my driving now - because then I was really driving only one-handed!"

Kubica was pipped to this year's race seat at Williams by Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin.

However with Lance Stroll almost certain to leave for Force India at the end of 2018, the 33-year-old could yet complete his long journey back to Formula 1 next season.

He took part in the official in-season test that followed the Hungarian Grand Prix last month. He was eighth fastest of the 17 drivers taking part over the two days, despite the FW41's current performance issues.

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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.