Kubica: “Motivation Not Lacking” For Further Le Mans Wins

Robert Kubica insists he remains fully motivated to continue chasing further success in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans after achieving his goal of victory in the French endurance classic with AF Corse this year.

The Polish ex-Formula 1 driver was part of the No. 83 Ferrari 499P crew that claimed victory at Le Mans this year alongside Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye, with the trio also in contention for this year’s WEC drivers’ crown heading into next month’s Bahrain season finale.

Kubica, Hanson and Ye trail factory Ferrari counterparts Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi by 13 points heading into the title-decider.

Discussing his future goals after achieving a Le Mans win that eluded him in his first four attempts, Kubica said he is eager to try and add to his victory tally in the coming years, insisting that his motivation remains undimmed at the age of 40.

“If I have a good opportunity, for sure I would like to do Le Mans again,” Kubica told Sportscar365. “And then I am not going there to cruise around, for sure.

“It’s like in F1 — winning your first race is always something big, but then, as a character, you want to win more. If one day I would have a chance to race at Le Mans in a competitive package, the target would be to try and win it again.

“It’s not like because I won it once, it’s achieved and now it’s goodbye.

“I enjoy challenges. I think the bigger the challenge, the better I perform, which is positive to see when you are 40 years old. Definitely the motivation is not lacking.

“A lot depends on what is possible and what is achievable. Sometimes the challenge can be to try and finish P8. In the past I had more satisfaction in finishing an F1 race in P6 or P8 than finishing on the podium, depending on the circumstances.”

Kubica says he hasn’t yet made a decision on his 2025 plans, suggesting that staying on for a third season with AF Corse would depend on whether the satellite Ferrari team’s “goals” aligned with his own priorities.

“Although it’s coming up soon and things often move fast in motorsport, I’m honestly not thinking about [next year] too much,” he said. I am pretty relaxed about it.

“It has to be done properly and it has to be something that I feel there is value in doing.

“I know what AF Corse can offer because I have been here for two years, and the package is competitive. First you need to see what is possible and what are the goals [of the team], and whether these goals are aligned with mine.

“If this is aligned, it would be nice to continue, because we know each other and what we can offer. But if the goals are different, and the targets are different, then there’s no point just to be here for the sake of being here.

“If you have the tools, you want to use them and you want to be in a position to fight and maximize what you have. This is what we have tried to do but in the end it’s not an easy task. It requires a lot of work from different directions.”

Kubica downplayed the suggestion he could consider changing tack completely in the remainder of his career, having already experienced the considerable challenge of taking on the World Rally Championship in between his F1 stints.

“If I’m completely honest I have been focused on what is going on here and I didn’t think too much about any crazy ideas or what [else] I would like to do,” he said.

“I think I understand what I bring to the table and where I can fit well. I think I still have time to explore different categories in motorsport, but I don’t know if I can fit the exploring and then building things up [to become competitive].

“I have experienced completely changing categories, and it takes time. Even changing teams in the same paddock, you need time. But this can also be a challenge.”