BBC Sport - F1 - Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica injured in rally crash
Formula 1 star Robert Kubica suffered fractures to his right arm, leg and hand and is undergoing surgery after a rally crash in Italy on Sunday morning.
The 26-year-old Pole hit a church wall at high speed and was air-lifted by helicopter to a hospital near Genoa.
His British-based Renault team said the driver was being operated on following extensive checks in Peitra Ligure.
It looks unlikely Kubica will be ready for the new Formula 1 season, which starts on 13 March in Bahrain.
His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, but following surgery in 2003 after a serious road accident as a passenger that left him with titanium bolts in his arm, there will be doubts about his ability to continue in the sport.
Surgeons are trying to ensure he has full movement in his right hand.
The latest Renault statement read: "After undergoing extensive medical checks this morning, Robert Kubica has been diagnosed with multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand.
"He is currently undergoing surgery at the Santa Corona Hospital in Peitra Ligure."
Reports suggested that Kubica was 4.6km from the start of the Ronde di Andora rally on Sunday morning when his Skoda Fabia crashed. His co-driver Jakub Gerber escaped from the wreckage unharmed.
The former driver for the BMW Sauber team regularly competes in rallies and was driving a week after a successful testing session in the new Renault car in Valencia , ahead of the season's opening grand prix in Bahrain.
Kubica had been due to lead the Renault team alongside Russian Vitaly Petrov, who has a long-term contract after signing for the 2011 and 2012 season during the winter.
The reserve drivers for 2011 include Bruno Senna - who raced for Hispania last season - and Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who drove for Renault as a replacement for Nelson Piquet Jr in 2009.
It is likely that either of these drivers will be called up for the second pre-season test which starts in Jerez on Thursday.
Kubica was an impressive performer last season to finish in eighth position in the drivers' table, securing second at Melbourne and a third in Monaco and Belgium.
The Krakow-born star also suffered a bad crash at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007 and was forced to miss one race. He returned to the same track the following year to claim his first Formula 1 victory.
Other F1 drivers have been sending messages of support to Kubica.
Williams driver Rubens Barrichello said on his Twitter page: "I would like to ask you for your best wishes to Kubica. He is being operated right now. We all like him and he deserves all the best."
Sebastian Buemi, of the Torro Rosso team, tweeted: "All my support to Robert Kubica. I am with you man"
