Robert Kubica, wearing casual clothes are barely sporting even a limp, checked out of a Montreal hospital on Monday and vowed to be fit for Sunday’s US grand prix at Indianapolis before driving away in a BMW road car.
A spokesman for his team said: “The doctors here have given him the all-clear to race.”
The mandatory ‘black box’ aboard his destroyed single seater, however, showed a 28g impact at nearly 90 degrees, and Kubica’s mild concussion means that Sebastian Vettel or Timo Glock could still be called up to take his place.
And “the peak value (of the impact) would be clearly higher than 28g, given the damage to the chassis”, a BMW engineer added.
“In my day, if you had a crash like that, you would be dead, no doubt about it,” Niki Lauda, who nearly died in a similar head-on crash back in 1976, said.
22-year-old Kubica must on Thursday complete a 25-minute examination by the FIA’s doctors, where his reaction time, co-ordination and mental capacities will be compared with a ‘control’ test that all drivers undergo each season.
He said in a press huddle outside the Sacre-Coeur hospital: “I’m in quite good shape and I’m hoping (to be) going to Indianapolis if the doctors say it is ok.
“Mario Theissen and other team members came to visit me and also thanks to Jarno Trulli who came as well.”
Poland’s Kubica said he had not yet decided if he wanted to watch replays of the crash.
“I saw it when I was in the car,” he said with a slight smile.
