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RACE ace Robert Kubica is back in Bahrain where his F1 career started and where he raced to his first ever pole position ... hoping to bring glory to a team which has courted controversy and faced disgrace.
The Polish driver is now the king of Renault - filling the void left by former world champion Fernando Alonso who now wears the colours of Ferrari.
Kubica told GulfWeekly: "The start of a new season is always very exciting and after a long winter it's nice to experience the unique atmosphere of a Grand Prix once again. I'm used to starting the Formula One season in Melbourne and so Australia was always a special race for me, but I'm sure I will feel the same about Bahrain.
"I actually made my debut as a third driver for BMW in Bahrain in 2006 so that is a very special memory for me. Also, I remember my first pole position in 2008. Another funny memory was the test in Bahrain last year as we had a huge sand storm and couldn't run for two full days because the conditions were so bad."
Last season's Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is best forgotten. "For sure it was a difficult race," he said. "BMW finished almost last as I lost my front wing on the first lap, just as my teammate Nick Heidfeld did, which ended our chances in the race. We didn't have a lot of pace that day and so it was not a great weekend to remember. It was a shame as it's a circuit I really enjoy."
When BMW Sauber F1 announced that they would leave Formula One at the end of 2009, Kubica became a free agent for the 2010 season and he was snatched up by his old team, Renault F1.
Kubica, 25, had started his professional career in 2000 as a test driver for a Formula Renault 2000 car. After five years of great racing achievements, Kubica won the World Series by Renault championship with the Epsilon Euskadi team, earning Formula One tests with Renault.
However, during 2006, Kubica was driving for the BMW Sauber F1 team and was deemed the first Polish driver to compete in F1.
Kubica performed well during the 2007 season finishing consistently in point scoring positions.
He made headlines across the globe when he cheated death in a horror crash at the Canadian Grand Prix. As Kubica approached the hairpin on lap 27 his car made contact with Jarno Trulli's Toyota. It hit a hump in the grass, which lifted its nose into the air and left him unable to brake or steer. The car then rolled as it came back across the track, striking the wall on the outside of the hairpin and coming to rest on its side, as the photograph (left) shows.
The speed measured when his car clipped the barrier was 300.13 km/h, at a 75 degree angle, subjecting Kubica to an average deceleration of 28g. After data from the onboard accident recorder had been analysed it was found that he had been subjected to a peak G-force of 75g.
Under safety car conditions, Kubica was removed from the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre, where he was announced to be 'stable', although no information regarding potential injuries was known at that time. Shortly afterwards, his manager Daniele Morelli said Kubica was conscious and talking. He suffered a light concussion alongside a sprained ankle.
In 2008, as well as securing his and BMW Sauber's first pole at Bahrain he also claimed second place finishes at the Malaysian and Monaco GP. On June 8 at the Canadian GP, Kubica achieved his first Formula 1 victory becoming the 99th driver to win a World Championship race.
When Kubica moved to Renault his position was briefly put in doubt by the team itself. Renault was evaluating its future in the sport following the 2009 season in the wake of the 'Crashgate' scandal and the parent company's financial problems.
The Renault Formula One crash controversy that was dubbed Crashgate by the media involved allegations of a conspiracy that Nelson Piquet Jr was asked to deliberately crash his vehicle during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to gain a sporting advantage for his Renault team-mate Alonso. When the accident occurred, Piquet described his crash at the time as a simple mistake.
However, after being dropped by the Renault team following the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, Piquet alleged that he had been asked by the team to deliberately crash to improve the race situation for Alonso, sparking an investigation of Renault F1 for race fixing by FŽdŽration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Formula One governing body.
After an investigation, Renault F1 was charged with conspiracy and a disqualification from Formula One, which was suspended for two years pending any further comparable rule infringements.
This scandal resulted in a Luxembourg-based investment firm, Genii Capital, taking a 75 per cent stake in the team; Renault retaining the remaining 25 per cent. Eric Boullier was also appointed as the new team manager.
Kubica said he might not stay with Renault, as his contract was only valid if the parent company had a controlling stake in the team, but he then decided to remain with them and according to Kubica, he has settled in rather nicely.
Kubica said: "It already feels like home and I'm enjoying working with everyone. During winter testing the team has worked really hard to make me comfortable in the car and the guys in the factory have reacted really quickly to the feedback I have given on the car, which is nice to see. There are a few things to come which will make me feel even better in the car and which will also make it quicker, but we are already making good progress.
So, what hopes does he have for this season? "It's a difficult question to answer," he said. "Based on my experience from the previous years, you never really know what to expect until the season starts because things can change so quickly.
"When I was with Sauber in 2008 I remember the car did not meet our expectations at the start of the year, but within a month we had turned things around and I took pole position in Bahrain. So things can change very quickly, which is why it's hard to say what my objectives are.
"My only hope is that the car is easy to drive because the new rules will favour cars that are not too sensitive - we need a car that behaves consistently in a wide range of conditions.
"I ask fans in Bahrain to keep their fingers crossed for me and the Renault F1 Team as we kick off the new season!"
The first Russian driver to compete in Formula One will he driving alongside Kubica in the Renault F1 Team for the 2010 season. Vitaly Petrov, 25, graduates to Formula One off the back of a successful GP2 career having raced in both the GP2 Series and GP2 Asia Series.
