Kubica to test drive for Renault

Renault have confirmed that Robert Kubica will test drive their 2017 car in Hungary next week.

The Pole has not raced in Formula 1 since he suffered life-changing injuries in a crash in 2011, but now hopes to return to the sport after a six-year absence.

Renault have been considering replacing their second driver Jolyon Palmer, who has been far off the pace set by team leader Nico Hulkenberg this season.

Kubica crashed into a church wall during the Ronde di Andora rally and suffered severe damage to his right hand, arm and leg, and needed a partial amputation of his forearm.

The 32-year-old drove an F1 car for the first time in almost seven years during a private test with Renault at Valencia in June, and then completed 90 laps at Paul Ricard in the week before the British GP in a test which was designed "to extensively evaluate his driving capabilities".

Both those tests were in the 2012-spec car,  and former BMW and Lotus driver Kubica will now test drive out the more physically-demanding 2017 car in Hungary.

The test will take place the Hungaroring takes place on 1-2 August, and Kubica will share driving duties of the RS17 with DAMS Formula 2 driver Nicholas Latifi.

"The first two days of testing allowed both Robert and ourselves to gather a great amount of information," Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul said.

"The upcoming session with the RS17 at the Hungaroring will allow us all to obtain detailed and precise data in a current car and representative conditions.

"After this test, we will carefully analyse the collected information to determine in what conditions it would be possible for Robert to return to competition in the upcoming years."

The Hungary Grand Prix will be shown live over the weekend of 28-30 July on eir sport in Ireland.

Image: Getty Images/ Clive Rose

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