F1 paddock buoyed by Robert Kubica's Le Mans 24 Hours…

Robert Kubica claiming his maiden Le Mans 24 Hours victory proved popular amongst the Formula 1 paddock, with various members paying tribute to him on Sunday.

Kubica, who had three separate stints in F1, won the classic French enduro over the weekend whilst sharing the #83 Ferrari Hypercar with Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye.

It is the highlight in a career of ‘what ifs’ for Kubica, who was one of F1’s star drivers in the late 2000s before a near-fatal rallying accident in 2011 ended his four-year stay in the series.

Kubica has since floated across various categories, before finally finding his home in the World Endurance Championship in the 2020s with his Le Mans debut coming in 2021.

That was the year he very nearly claimed victory in the LMP2 class, only for himself, Ye and Louis Deletraz to retire from the lead on the final lap due to a throttle sensor issue.

But on his fifth trip to Le Mans, Kubica took overall victory during the same weekend when F1 hosted its Canadian race – the site of the Pole’s sole grand prix win, which came in 2008 and briefly took him to the top of the drivers’ standings.

“I'm very happy for him,” said Fernando Alonso, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2018 and 2019.

“We talked a few times about how special that race is and he deserves to experience that.

“He’s a legend of our sport, and now he's even more after winning Le Mans in his career.

Fernando Alonso, Alpine, and Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo test driver, in 2021 (Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images)

“You know some of the pain that he went through with the accident and things like that, I think today is a very happy day for motorsport. He probably should have won it a couple of years ago when he had the failure in LMP2.

“I’m so happy for him, I will call him tomorrow. I didn't want to disturb today! He will be celebrating, but extremely happy. I'm proud of him.”

Kubica, now aged 40, also contested the 2019 F1 season with Williams before returning for two grands prix in 2021 to replace Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen who had COVID-19.

Although Kubica failed to score any points for Alfa Romeo, then team boss Frederic Vasseur, who is now at Ferrari, was still impressed by him and even more amazed by his Le Mans win.

“Yes, you know that I have a close relationship with Robert,” said Vasseur. “He stayed with me a couple of years at Alfa Romeo and before in F3 Formula Renault. And for me, he's an extraterrestrial.

“What he's doing is mega. To win in Le Mans in this situation, to be the leader of the car, to push the team, it's something that I can't imagine.

“Honestly, each time that I'm discussing with Robert, you know when he jumped into the car for Alfa when Kimi got the Covid, it was in Zandvoort.

“He had to jump into the car on Saturday morning. In Zandvoort, the pitlane is very small and he was not able to turn the wheel and to take the clutch. And he didn't drive the car all year.

“And this race, he was fighting with Seb [Vettel] until the last corner. And this is just mega. I'm very, very pleased for Robert.

Robert Kubica, Test and Reserve Driver, Alfa Romeo Racing (Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images)

“He had a chaotic career in motorsports, and when you see the level of effort that he put into his career, I'm very, very pleased for him to have this kind of present today.”

Kubica’s other career achievements include winning the 2013 WRC2 title, the European Le Mans Series LMP2 crown in 2021 and 2024, as well as WEC LMP2 honours in 2023.