Electric Formula E Car ‘Like Having Sex With A Rubber Doll,’ Former F1 Driver Robert Kubica Says

Kubica tested a Formula E car six years after his right arm was nearly sliced off in a rally crash

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Robert Kubica of Poland during the 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on November 14, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain.
Photo: Philippe Nanchino/Eurasia Sport Images (Getty Images)

Former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica equated racing in electric open-wheel series Formula E to having sex with an inflatable doll, e-Formula.news reports.. The 39-year-old Polish competitor has competed in three different FIA world championships but has no interest in contesting the all-electric single-seater category. Kubica is set to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship with AF Corse in a Ferrari 499P Hypercar next year.

Kubica recently appeared on an Italian-language podcast called Gurulandia and was asked about Formula E, e-Formula.news reports. He answered, “I have a saying that you can’t actually say out loud, driving there is like having sex with a rubber doll.” It’s a provocative response, but it’s weird that Kubica implies that he knows what a night of passion with a sex doll feels like. He added, “For me, a competitive car has to make noise. I will always remember that smell when I was standing in the pit lane in 2006 and Alonso drove past in the Renault.”

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Kubica made his F1 debut in 2006 with BMW Sauber. He survived a dramatic 75g crash during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix and took his only F1 win in Montreal the following year. His F1 career was tragically cut short in 2011 by a near-fatal crash in a regional Italian rally. An Armco barrier impaled his Škoda Fabia, and the metal rail almost sliced his right arm off.

Kubica made a comeback to F1 with Williams in 2019, his last full-time season. Before his F1 return, he competed in the FIA World Rally Championship and hinted at a potential move to Formula E. He tested with the DS Virgin team in 2017 to try out the machinery and see if he could operate it with his physical impairment.

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The current generation of Formula E cars isn’t child’s play. They weigh over 1,850 pounds and aren’t equipped with power steering. Formula E is divisive for most drivers, but it is still physically grueling to maneuver around the tightly street circuits while racing wheel-to-wheel with other drivers.