Topic: Robert Kubica

Robert Josef Kubica (Polish pronunciation:   ( listen); born December 7, 1984 in Kraków, Poland) is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006. In June 2008, Kubica took his maiden F1 victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the 99th driver to win a World Championship race. For the 2010 season, Kubica is racing for Renault.

Kubica developed his love for all kinds of cars at the young age of four when he spotted a small off-road vehicle, powered by a 4 bhp (3.0 kW) petrol engine. After long talks with his parents, his father, Artur, bought him the car and young Kubica spent long hours driving around plastic bottles. When he got older it became apparent that he needed better equipment, so his father bought him a go-kart. However, Kubica was too young to start racing in the Polish Karting Championship as he was under the age of ten. When he entered the championship, he won six titles in three years. After his third season, Kubica decided to switch to a more competitive league in Italy. In 1998 Kubica became the first foreigner to win the International Italian Junior Karting Championship.

Kubica also scored second place in the European Junior Karting Championship and won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup held on part of the Formula One Grand Prix track. A year later, he defended his title in Italy and also competed in the International German Karting Championship. He also won the Monaco Kart Cup for the second time in a row, as well as the Margutti Trophy and Elf Masters races. In 2000, his last season in karting, Kubica scored fourth places in both the European and World Championships.