Liuzzi and Hulkenberg admit interest in Kubica's place at Renault

With Robert Kubica forced into a long hospital stay after a terrible accident in a rally race, candidates are starting to emerge to take his starting place at Renault.

Eric Boullier, the boss of the Lotus-backed team, admitted on Monday that with the Pole out for several months, he will probably have to look beyond the reserve driver contracts of Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean. Quoted from “O Estado de S. Paulo”, Flavio Briatore, who visited the 26-year-old Kubica in hospital on Monday, said “The difference is that it will probably be for the whole first half of the season, not just for one race; so, there must be an experienced driver, the team has improved compared to last year and therefore will need someone who knows how to approach a race”

The most famous name on the list is Kimi Raikkonen, but attempts by numerous journalists to contact his manager Steve Robertson on Monday were unsuccessful.

Martin Brundle commented on Twitter: “I would be surprised if Kimi is still fit enough for F1, and the rally calendar goes beyond F1 testing”; the British Brundle, former driver and manager and now commentator, continues: “Personally I would like to 'crowbar' Nico Hulkenberg from Force India.”

Gans Timo, a member of the team that manages Hulkenberg, admitted that the German would be interested in the appointment, even though he signed on Friday to be a Force India driver for this year: “We have a contract with Force India and we will not take the initiative to contact Renault,” Gans told the Daily Mail, adding: “If Renault contacted us, we would start to think about it, but we are not doing so yet; We hope Robert returns soon."

Also mentioned are Nick Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli, Pedro de la Rosa and Christian Klien. Even Vitantonio Liuzzi did not hide his interest in replacing the Pole.

It could be said that Vitaly Petrov is hoping for an experienced driver to replace Kubica so that he is not forced into leadership, or for Renault to promote him from within to improve his F1 status.

“I think it makes no sense to discuss Vitaly's position, because there is no concept of first or second pilot,” his spokesperson told the Ria Novosti agency.

Christian Citton