Pat Symonds regrets “losing” Polish F1 star

Robert Kubica has been the surprise package of the season so far for BMW, but he really shouldn’t be driving for the German manufacturer. The Pole was part of Renault’s young driver scheme as a teenager but was released after just one season in 2002. Renault engineering chief Pat Symonds admitted today that he still regrets the decision – probably now more than ever.

Speaking in Renault’s podcast, Symonds admitted:

“At some point when we were doing a bit of a rationalisation of that, unfortunately we lost him out of the programme. But nevertheless he drove our Formula 1 car as part of the prize for winning the World Series by Renault championship and after that drive I was very, very keen that we followed on with him.

 

“He really was most impressive in testing and I really wanted to do something with him… He wasn’t too keen at the time and of course later we found out that he was on the verge of signing a deal with BMW, so that’s why. But I feel that was one that got away from us.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time a team has let a significant talent slip through its fingers (Williams could have signed Lewis Hamilton), and it won’t be the last.