GENOA, Italy (AP) – Formula One driver Robert Kubica was seriously injured Sunday when his rally car hit a wall at "high speed," casting doubt on whether he will be on the grid for the start of the Grand Prix season next month.
"Robert Kubica has been diagnosed with multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand," the Pole's Lotus Renault team said in a statement. "He is currently undergoing surgery at the Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure."
Kubica's life was not in danger and the worst damage appeared to be to his limbs, local medical officials said.
"Certainly it is a very delicate situation, as the first hours always are after a huge trauma, one in which there could also have been a strong bleeding," Roberto Carrozzino, a local health authority official, told Sky Italia.
The team statement said that Kubica "suffered a high-speed accident this morning while competing in the Ronde di Andora Rally."
The ANSA news agency reported that an operation on the 26-year-old driver began after hand specialist Igor Rossello was called to the hospital.
Kubica, eighth in last year's F1 world championship, now looks unlikely to race at Bahrain on March 13.
It was difficult to extract Kubica from the wreckage and he didn't arrive at the hospital in Pietra Ligure, a small coastal town about 35 miles southwest of Genoa, until about two hours after the accident, Carrozzino said.
There was no immediate comment from the hospital, though they said there would be an update on Kubica's condition later in the day.
ANSA said the driver was about 3 miles from the start of the rally when his car left the road and hit a wall. Co-driver Jakub Gerber was unhurt, the Lotus Renault team said.
Kubica was due to lead the Lotus Renault F1 team this season alongside Vitaly Petrov of Russia, with former HRT driver Bruno Senna named as a third driver. Romain Grosjean, who drove for Renault in 2009, was also named third driver alongside Senna.
It was not immediately known who would take Kubica's place in Bahrain should he unable to drive.
Kubica walked away from a frightening accident at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, where his car went airborne into a concrete wall before somersaulting across the track in a shower of debris to come to a rest with only the cockpit intact.
Kubica, who was then driving for BMW Sauber, left the hospital the next day with a slight concussion and a sprained ankle.
Last week, he closed Formula One's first test session of the season with the fastest time over three days in Valencia, Spain. The next test session is Feb. 10-13 in Jerez, Spain.
