The 40-year-old, who raced in 99 Grands Prix between 2006 and 2021, claimed an emotional maiden win at the famed endurance race over the weekend, triumphing alongside Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye in a Ferrari 499P LMH.
Alonso, who won Le Mans in 2018 and 2019 with Toyota, heaped praise on the Polish star when speaking to the press after Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
“I’m very happy for him,” Alonso said. “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.”
Kubica came close to being Alonso’s teammate at Ferrari in Formula 1, with the then-Renault driver believed to have signed a contract for the Scuderia for the 2012 season.
However, a horrific rallying accident in 2011 put his F1 career on hold.
“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,” Alonso added.
“(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.”
Canadian Grand Prix winner and former Williams teammate George Russell also congratulated Kubica on the win, posting on his Instagram story: “Congrats mate on winning Le Mans, so happy for you!!”
Others in the F1 paddock also joined in celebrating the popular Polish driver’s victory.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur — who worked with Kubica at Alfa Romeo and in Formula 3 — told the press after the Canadian Grand Prix that he was thrilled with the result.
“For me, he’s an extra-terrestrial,” Vasseur said. “What he’s doing is mega and to win in Le Mans in this situation and to be the leader of the car, to [lead] the team, it’s something that I can’t imagine.
“I’m very, very pleased for Robert. He had a chaotic career in motorsport, 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 result today.”
F1 commentator Alex Jacques also celebrated the win, writing on social media: “An all-time moment for Robert Kubica… today a comeback for the ages is complete. Congrats to the whole #83 entry.”
Kubica made his F1 debut with BMW Sauber in 2006 and stunned the paddock by scoring a podium in just his third race.
A year later, he survived a terrifying crash at the Canadian Grand Prix — only to return and win at the same circuit in 2008.
Despite the serious injuries he sustained in his 2011 rallying accident, Kubica never gave up on returning to F1. He famously fought his way back to the grid in 2019 with Williams, racing alongside then-rookie George Russell.
He made his final Grand Prix appearance in 2021, standing in for Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo during the Italian Grand Prix.
Discussion about this post