Formula 1 winner Robert Kubica is negotiating with several teams to secure a place in the supercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in the coming years.
Kubica made the switch after his return season in Formula 1 ended in 2019, first spending a year in DTM before moving into long-distance racing.
Since then, the Polish driver has achieved great success in the LMP2 machinery class, and in 2021 he won the European Le Mans Series championship with WRT in his first start, and in the same year he almost added to his resume with the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours race victory, until he was eliminated them dramatically in the last round. In 2022, Kubica spent another year among the LMP2 drivers, this time in the With Team Primaachieved his best finish at La Sarthe in second place behind the dominant JOTA car.
The Hypercar class will clearly be attractive from 2023 onwards as manufacturers return to the WEC after several lean years, and Kubica is one of the highly rated drivers hoping to secure a spot in the new top class. The 37-year-old driver revealed that he has already discussed it with several teams, although at the moment he is not too optimistic about a race seat for 2023. The Motorsport.comHe revealed his plans to:
“I would say I did a lot and tried to get into the first category. I don’t think it will come together… There are still negotiations, but it doesn’t seem so easy anymore. I think it’s a big challenge for new teams and new car manufacturers. It will be the first year for sure. “Very stressful. I think my best chance is to continue in the long run. Presumably, I will also be involved in Formula 1 in some way. So yeah, there are a couple of things they have to put together and then put together and hopefully in a couple of weeks that will be more clear.”
The WEC will get a big boost in terms of entries next year, as Porsche, Cadillac and Ferrari will join the supercar category along with the already existing Toyota and Peugeot. The field of supercars will continue to expand in 2024, because Lamborghini and Alpine will prepare their new LMDh. Finally, BMW will also attend, after focusing exclusively on next year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Kubica said his focus is on 2024 as he is in talks with teams and manufacturers about entering the WEC’s premier class. This is what he revealed about her:
“I’ve agreed with some of you from 2023, not necessarily for next year, but beyond. At the same time, as I said, it’s a bit complicated by the fact that I’m going to continue in Formula 1. It’s not clear. Also, some racing calendars are not easy to manage. But that’s just the way it is.”
Team Prima, which he raced for this year, now belongs to the same group of companies as Iron Links. From 2024 they will play a key role in Lamborghini’s LMDh program at WEC and IMSA. Kubica did not deny that he had held talks with the parties involved in the project. However, he admitted his chances of racing a 2024 Lamborghini are slim:
“I think I can say that we negotiated with them. I still think it’s too much to say yes or no and to tell you this exclusively. However, right now, I can say that it’s very unlikely… There is very little chance of participation. “.
If Kubica can’t ride a supercar, according to the Polish pilot, staying in LMP2 would be the “most natural” option.
Kubica got his first taste of IMSA last year when he participated in its main event. In the Rolex 24 at Daytona, he drove an Oreca 07 fielded by High Class Racing. In early March of this year, during the “Super Sebring” weekend shared with the WEC, he was able to see just how popular the tournament was in North America. While insisting that the WEC will remain his priority for now, Kubica hasn’t been shy about admitting his desire to compete in IMSA at some point in the future:
“For me, IMSA would be more complicated to match with Formula 1, but to be honest, I would like to compete in IMSA. I think it’s a French championship and I really enjoyed Sebring. As a competition, of course, not in IMSA, but in the WEC. I think that’s a very cool thing. I think the championship is at a very high level, as there are not many cars, but at least there is a decent race. I haven’t looked at it carefully yet, because as I said, it is not easy to juggle the calendars and all the things and commitments. At the same time, it will be IMSA is something I really want to do someday.”
Kubica has announced that we probably won’t see him in F1 anymore
