Zanardi thinks Kubica return possible

Alex Zanardi thinks it is possible Robert Kubica could return to formula one.

Not long ago, former Renault and BMW driver Kubica said he thought returning to F1 would be "impossible", as the disability to his right arm is permanent.

"I have to do all of my (arm) movement with my shoulder," he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

But this week, the now 32-year-old Pole completed 115 laps of the Valencia track after his last F1 team, Renault, invited him to test the 2012 Lotus car.

"I don’t know what the future holds," Kubica said afterwards, while engineering boss Alan Permane insisted it was a "one off" outing for Kubica.

But Germany’s Bild newspaper says there are rumours Renault might be lining up Kubica, a former Canadian grand prix winner, as a replacement for struggling Jolyon Palmer.

Another former F1 driver, Zanardi, knows all about returning from physical adversity, having lost his legs in a 2001 Indycar crash and gone on to race again and also win Paralympic gold.

When asked by Corriere della Sport about Kubica’s test, the 50-year-old said: "I read that he did more than 100 laps, so he would be able to make a return to the sport.

"And in my opinion, it was not a random thing that Renault let him test the car. I hope he does (return), because he is a very good driver, a very good person, a very nice guy, and it would of course be a great story," Zanardi added.