Kubica determined to make swift return to F1

Milan: Robert Kubica has said he must return to Formula One this year after a career-threatening rally crash and that he will be a better driver when he does.

However the Pole recognised that he faced a tougher challenge than when he broke his arm in a road accident eight years ago.

The Renault driver told Friday's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper in a bedside interview at his Italian hospital that he could feel the fingers in his right hand.

"I must come back this year," he said, recalling another incident seven years ago when he broke his arm while travelling as a passenger in a car driven by a friend that was hit by a drunk driver.

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"It was the same right arm, crushed. But after four days I could not feel it as well as now and that is a comfort.

"I want to get back on the track stronger than ever," he added. "Because after these accidents you are not the same, you improve. It happened to me in 2007, after the crash in Canada. I was out for a race and when I came back I was better.

"A driver is not just accelerator and steering wheel, he's something more...I am stronger as a driver and mentally since 2007. And it will be the same this time, when I am physically fit."

Doctors have said it could take Kubica a year to recover fully from an accident that left him with serious hand, arm and leg injuries. Renault have accepted he will be out for at least three months.

Kubica suffered heavy blood loss and was in surgery for seven hours on Sunday as two teams of surgeons worked to save his right hand.

He was due to undergo more hours of surgery to fix broken bones on Friday.

"I'll do whatever I can to come back as soon as possible," Poland's main sports daily Przeglad Sportowy quoted him as saying.

The 26-year-old recalled also how in 2003 doctors had warned him he faced a year out of racing. Instead, he returned to Formula Three after six weeks.

"At first doctors were telling me that the rehabilitation will take at least a year. Then they told me it would take three months minimum," he told the Polish paper of that accident.

"This time it will be harder. I have to be more careful."

The Pole, Renault's leading driver and big hope for the season, defended his love of rallying and decision to take part in the minor event near Genoa.

"Rallies are not just a passion," he told the Gazzetta. "They are also tough training for F1. I drive better in F1 because I competed in so many rallies last year. Rallies help your concentration, when there is so little testing in Formula One.

"Rallying has allowed me to work on certain areas where there is still room for improvement. It's important, in a season like this one with 20 grands prix."

Asked whether he would continue rallying when he had recovered, Kubica replied: "I don't know, I'll see when the time comes."

The Pole's manager Daniele Morelli told the Gazzetta that Kubica had only a litre of blood in his body when he reached the hospital.

"'Call the boy's parents'." he recalled doctors telling him. "I felt myself freeze."