Kubica's involvement in motorsport began at the age of four when his father Artur bought him a small off-road vehicle powered by a 4 bhp petrol engine. He progressed to karting at around age ten and won six titles in three years in the Polish Karting Championship. In 1998 he became the first foreigner to win the International Italian Junior Karting Championship, also taking the Junior Monaco Kart Cup that year.
He began his professional single-seater career in 2000 in Formula Renault and became part of Renault's driver development programme. In 2005 he won the World Series by Renault championship with Epsilon Euskadi. He joined BMW Sauber as a test driver for 2006 and was promoted to race driver mid-season, replacing Jacques Villeneuve at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Kubica made steady progress through the BMW Sauber years, scoring his first podium at the 2007 Italian Grand Prix — the first Polish driver to achieve a Formula One podium. The 2008 season was the high point of his Formula One career: he won the Canadian Grand Prix, the only win BMW Sauber ever scored, and led the Drivers' Championship at one stage before finishing fourth overall.
He joined Renault for 2010 and was set to continue with the team into 2011 before events intervened.
On 6 February 2011, Kubica suffered severe injuries in a crash at the Ronde di Andora rally. He sustained a partial amputation of his forearm and fractures to his right elbow, shoulder, and leg. Speaking from his hospital bed to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he expressed determination to return to Formula One that year, though in the months that followed he acknowledged a return would be "nearly impossible." He also later revealed he had signed a pre-contract with Ferrari for the 2012 season before the crash ended that prospect.
Kubica returned to competitive driving in September 2012, winning a minor rally in Italy. Top Gear magazine named him one of "The Men of the Year 2012" for that comeback.
From 2013 to 2016 Kubica competed in the World Rally Championship and its support series. Driving for Citroën in 2013, he won the inaugural WRC-2 title. He moved to the WRC championship full-time in 2014 with a Ford Fiesta RS WRC prepared by M-Sport.
Kubica participated in Formula One tests with Renault and Williams during 2017 and 2018. He was announced as Williams' reserve driver for 2018, then confirmed as a race driver for the 2019 season — a return that captured enormous public attention given the severity of his 2011 injuries. He left Williams at the end of 2019, subsequently serving as reserve and test driver for Alfa Romeo and making race appearances in 2021 when he replaced Kimi Räikkönen at the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.
Kubica moved into the FIA World Endurance Championship and secured the LMP2 class title with WRT in 2023. He then stepped up to the Hypercar class with AF Corse, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025 — becoming the first Polish driver to win the event outright.
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