Robert Kubica  Born: 07.12.84  Birthplace:Cracow, Poland  Team: Sauber  2006 Car Number: 17  Last Season: Did not race  GP Pedigree (After Brazilian GP)  Starts: 6  Victories: 0  Poles: 0  Fastest Laps: 0  Points: 6  GP Debut: 2006 Hungarian GP   Five-year Stats

Kubica earned a call to the Sauber front line to replace injured Jacques Villeneuve after impressing on Fridays at races this season.

Kubica started his adventure with cars very early, at the age of four and drove a small off-road vehicle around at his parents' home.

He graduated to karts and won six Polish Championship titles.

In 1998 Robert Kubica won the Italian Karting Championship as the first foreigner in the history of the series and also scored second place in European Championship.

At the end of 1999 he tested a Formula Renault 2000 car for the first time.

During his first season in cars he scored his first pole position and became member of RDD.

In 2002 he won four races and scored second place in Italian Formula Renault 2000.

His move to Formula 3 Euro Series was delayed by road accident when he was a passenger in Poland, which left him with severely broken right arm.

In his late debut at Norisring, driving with plastic brace and 18 titanium bolts in his right arm, Robert won his first Formula 3 race in front of 126 000 spectators.

He ended his first, shortened season in 12th place but ended his second season in Formula 3 Euro Series in a factory Mercedes team in an improved 7th position.

In November 2004 he scored pole position in Macau F3 Grand Prix, then broke the lap record before finishing second.

Good performance during his test with Epsilon Euskadi in World Series by Renault resulted in signing young Pole for 2005.

In his first race in new category, at Zolder, Robert scored third place, showing no respect for older and more experienced rivals.

He won a total of four races and in Estoril, three races before the end of the season, was crowned a champion.

That earned him a test with the Renault F1 Team in Barcelona and his lap times made such a big impression that three weeks later Kubica was signed by BMW Sauber.

Though he steps into a struggling team, his youthful energy may give the team a well-needed lift.

Formula One Career:

2006:

Test driver with Sauber.

Background:

2005:	Won World Series by Renault (four wins)
2004:	Formula Three Euro Series with Muecke Mercedes
2003:	Formula Three Euro Series with Prema Powerteam. Won Formula Sardinia Master
2002:	Second in Italian Formula Renault 2000
2001:	Italian Formula Renault 2000 and Renault 2000 Cup with RDD
2000:	Fourth in both European and World Karting Championship