Official: This is the end of Robert Kubica’s F1 career. Orlen as the sponsor of the new team

PKN Orlen entered Formula 1 on the occasion of the return of Robert Kubica. For a year, he sponsored the Williams team, when the Pole raced in it in 2019. Later, the concern became the title sponsor of Alfa Romeo, and Kubica worked there as a reserve driver. The state-owned company decided to start cooperation with another team – AlphaTauri, the junior team of Red Bull. There is no place for Kubica, who will remain associated with Orlen, but will no longer function in the F1 paddock, thus saying goodbye to the queen of motorsport.

The end of Kubica in F1

99 races, one win, one pole position, 12 podiums – that’s Kubica’s record in F1. It is certain that he will not increase it anymore, because the Polish driver ends his adventure with the series as a racing driver.

For the last three seasons he was reserve driver for Alfa Romeo. He joined the team together with Orlen. In 2021, he replaced Kimi Raikkonen in two races (Dutch and Italian Grands Prix) – the Finn was infected with the coronavirus.

Kubica will continue to be associated with the fuel company. It is to function as an ambassador of the Orlen brand. At the moment, the details of this position are not known.

The Pole is to announce new information about his future in motorsport in the coming days. There is much talk about his continued participation in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) endurance series. He would be a driver of the WRT team in the LMP2 series, i.e. a class lower than Hypercars, which, after changing the regulations, are becoming more attractive and more competitive year by year.

Orlen’s new cooperation

Orlen has announced that it has become the new sponsor of the AlphaTauri team. The Red Bull junior team has been operating under this name since 2020, and before that it was Toro Rosso. The Polish concern will not be the title sponsor of the main team, as it was during the cooperation with Alfa Romeo.

Orlen’s white and red logotypes will be visible on the rear wing, halo, nose of the car, deflectors, mirrors, overalls of drivers and mechanics and official team clothes. In turn, drivers will take part in Orlen’s marketing activities.

At the same time, Orlen secured the title sponsor of the AlphaTauri esports team.

In the official communication on the cooperation, Orlen indicates that “AlphaTauri is a forge of young talents”. But there is no mention anywhere of the possibility of finding and introducing talented Polish drivers to the academy.

The concern begins cooperation with the Italian team Scuderia AlphaTauri, whose main goal is to prepare future world champions.

Orlen will contribute at least EUR 10 million to AlphaTauri’s budget annually. The company’s deal with the team is similar to the one with Williams in 2019.

The presentation of the AlphaTauri car for the 2023 season will take place on February 11 in New York. The team’s racing drivers are Japanese Yuki Tsunoda and Dutchman Nyck de Vries. The team is based in Faenza, Italy, near Bologna and Imola, where there is a famous race track.