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Robert Kubica's shocking accident on Sunday has highlighted what most motorsport fans already knew. Rallying is a lot more dangerous than F1.
Although spectacular barrel-rolling accidents, or Mark Webber's short flight in Valencia, will always make the news headlines, it is the sudden impact with the scenery that can have devastating consequences in rallying. Go a few centimetres off line and you can be impacting all kinds of hard surfaces; rocks, trees or in Kubica's instance, a church wall.
Many years ago Michael Schumacher was asked if he would try rallying and he said no, too dangerous. Schumi considered his Honda Fireblade superbike not as dangerous as a trip through the trees - and he fell off that at pretty regular intervals.
F1cars and circuits are a supremely managed environment thanks to the safety regime driven forward by former FIA president Max Mosley and backed up by the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. Thus Robert's spectacular roll into the Casino hairpin at the 2007 Canadian GP resulted in little more than light concussion and a sprained ankle, while his rally adventure - just a few kilometres of the first stage of the Ronde di Andora - has left his driving career hanging in the balance.
It will be some time until doctors know the full chances of recovery for Robert Kubica's re-attached right hand, a hand that would have been expected to press a lot of buttons in 2011. Providing the nerve connections are okay, Kubica the racing driver would want to be back behind the wheel of an F1 car as soon as he could pass the FIA test for extricating himself out of the cockpit. Robert lives to be an F1 pilot and his unswerving attitude to weight control is one of the most visible signs of that steely determination. He once said that he didn't need a big a salary to be in F1, just air. Which is interesting when you contrast that to the other F1 star to make it big in rallying, Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen, who is the bravest of the brave in the F1 firmament (anyone who witnessed him piling flat out through Eau Rouge into a smoke screen created by Takuma Sato's blown Honda engine, can verify this). Yet money means a lot to him and he won't come back to F1 unless he gets what he thinks he's worth.
Kubica would want to come back as soon as he could, but taking at least 12 months off may be the best option. Whereas F1 drivers can race with broken shoulders and recently broken legs - the two things they can't get over in a hurry is injured backs (Ralf Schumacher) and injured heads (Felipe Massa). So what about hands?
Robert's surgeon, hand specialist Dr. Igor Rosello has said that he deals with a lot of motorcycle accidents: "One year is the best provision. I think it is quite difficult (to judge) now, but you never know. Drivers are always very special patients. I have a lot of motorbike patients and they heal in a much faster way - faster than normal people."
True, but one thing you notice about F1 drivers is that they have very strong wrists. The hands and particularly strength in the hands is almost certainly more important for an F1 driver than a top motorbike rider.
As one door closes, so another opens. Kubica's injury means that the Renault team will need to look for a suitable replacement. They may have Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean waiting in the wings as reserve drivers - and it may look nostalgic to have Senna in a black and gold Lotus-sponsored Renault - but they are not in the same league as RK.
If Proton-Lotus are serious about their attempts to get into the big time and bypass Team Lotus, then they surely will need the best driver not to find a race seat in 2011. They may have contracts elsewhere, but deals can be done.
Nick Heidfeld is the most obvious choice having matched Robert Kubica in their season together at BMW-Sauber in 2009. He has a wealth of experience and knows about the Pirelli tyres more than most.
Nico Hulkenberg is due for a season on the sidelines as reserve driver for Force India. Vijay Mallya didn't get where he is today without making cheeky little deals and he could go out on loan. Hulkenberg doesn't have Heidfeld's experience but he has all of his speed
Tonio Liuzzi has experience of 63 GPs. He may not have been able to match Adrian Sutil at Force Inida, but on the odd occasion he was quicker.
Christian Klein ...was quicker than Bruno Senna on a couple of occasions when he was drafted into the HRT team in 2010 with no experience of the car.
Looking beyond 2011, Kubica's injury, unless he can make the most spectacular recovery, will have an impact on the 2012 season as well. It was widely thought that 2011 would be Mark Webber's last season with Red Bull, but if Kubica's not back in the car to prove that he's over his injury, Christian Horner might not take the gamble of employing him. There are some good drivers on the grid that aren't employed by Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull or McLaren, but Robert is head and shoulders above them all.
Every F1 fan will wish Robert a speedy recovery. In 2003 he overcame a horrendous road accident which left him with 18 titanium bolts holding his arm together, and he still won his debut Euro Formula Three series race. This time he'll need a bit more recovery time, but if anyone can do it - Robo-Kubica can.
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