Feb.7 (GMM) Eric Boullier on Monday admitted Renault's mind is already turning to what to do now that Robert Kubica is out of action.
Pole Kubica, the fastest man at last week's Valencia test, had a positive night in an induced coma after surgery to repair his partially severed right hand and other injuries in a rally crash on Sunday.Lotus-Renault's team boss Boullier told the BBC on Monday that the 26-year-old woke up successfully early on Monday and "is having good communication" with those around him."He is suffering (with pain) but the brain activity is ok and we are certainly more relieved than 24 hours ago," said Kubica's manager Daniele Morelli.However, the harsh reality of the F1 world is that testing resumes at Jerez on Thursday, when there will be just four weeks until the F1 circus is in Bahrain for the season opener."Yes of course we are already starting to think about and work on a contingency plan," Boullier confirmed.It has been suggested that Kubica will be out of action at least for the whole of the 2011 season."He (Kubica) is definitely out for a couple of months but I expect the recovery will be quicker than one year."But today it's a bit too early to know exactly how long it is going to take," he added."Should it be a short-term replacement we will take one of our reserve drivers," said Boullier, referring to Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean."If it has to be longer we may have to consider different options," he added.