F1 icon wins Le Mans 24 Hours race more than a decade on from horror crash that almost killed him and broke 42 bones

FORMULA ONE cult hero Robert Kubica enjoyed a fairytale race win at the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 40-year-old took the chequered flag driving the Ferrari number 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, also driven by China‘s Yifei Ye and Britain’s Phil Hanson.

AFP

Robert Kubica crossed the line to win the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours race[/caption]

Reuters

It comes more than a decade after he was involved in a nearly fatal crash[/caption]

AFP

A huge rally car wreck in 2011 left Kubica fighting for his life[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

He suffered 42 broken bones and a partially severed arm, while it also robbed him of the chance to race for Ferrari in F1[/caption]

EPA

But Kubica completed a fairytale comeback to win one of the most prestigious prizes in motorsport[/caption]

AFP

Kubica raced to victory alongside China’s Yifei Ye and Britain’s Phil Hanson.[/caption]

Kubica was once considered to be in an elite crop of F1 talent alongside Lewis Hamilton as he took his maiden win at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 2011 the Pole had agreed to sign for the Ferrari F1 team for the 2012 season before disaster struck as he was involved in a devastating rally crash that almost killed him.

Kubica was left with 42 broken bones, a partially severed wrist and lost three quarters of his blood volume after being trapped in his car for more than an hour before rescue workers managed to free him.

He underwent a seven-hour operation by seven doctors before having two further operations to repair fractures in his leg, shoulder and arm.

As a result he spent months recovering from his injuries and was robbed of the chance to race for the Scuderia in F1.

Kubica returned to motorsport in the World Rally Championship in 2013 and went on to win 14 Stages before he made a stunning return to F1 to drive for Williams.

Initially he started out as the team’s reserve driver in 2018 before he was given a full seat in 2019 to partner then F2 champion George Russell.

He then left his role in 2020 after managing just a single point, but did remain as a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo.

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In 2023 he was crowned champion of the World Endurance Championship, while he also won two Le Mans series in 2021 and 2024.

However, top spot in the iconic 24-hour race eluded him as he twice finished as a runner-up and was forced to retire from the 2024 edition.

But this year Kubica finally added the iconic motorsport event to his lucrative racing CV in front of a sell-out crowd – which sees around 300,000 fans gather for the showpiece.

Kubica drove a long final stint to achieve the prestigious victory for Ferrari, which is their third year in a row winning the race.

Speaking over his team radio, he said: “It’s been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one – grazie mille, grazie a tutti.”

He later said to TNT Sports: “Winning Le Mans is special.

“It’s been a demanding week – we made everything possible. We kept our heads down when we had to push, and when not we took care of the tyres.

“I’m happy for myself, my team-mates, AF Corse and Ferrari winning three times in row. A better scenario, we could not have.”

Kubica joins two-time Le Mans and two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso as the only drivers to have won an F1 race and Le Mans this century.

He is also the first Polish driver to win the iconic race.

Team-mate Yifei Ye also became the first ever Chinese driver to take an overall win at Le Mans 24 Hours.

Motorsport fans will also have the chance to sink their teeth into the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, where Russell took pole ahead of Max Verstappen.