As Sebastian Vettel revels in a third straight Championship title and Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton lap up the praise after impressive performances throughout the 2012 season, spare a though for Robert Kubica.

Flick the stopwatch back to the eve of the 2011 season and the Polish driver was rightly regarded as one of the foremost talents on the grid.

During four and a half seasons in F1 with BMW Sauber and Renault from 2006 to 2010, 12 podiums including victory at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix in just 76 races were a true guage of his talents.

Kubica was expected to challenge his peers Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for Formula 1’s titles into the next decade.

Partial amputation

But then disaster struck in February 2011 at a rally event. During the first stage of the Ronde di Andora rally, his S2000 Skoda Fabia left the road and crashed violently into a barrier.

Kubica survived the incident but at a major cost. Trapped in the vehicle for over an hour, the 27-year-old ultimately suffered serious fractures to his right arm, injuries to his shoulder and leg and significant blood loss.

But worst of all he had to undergo a partial amputation of his forearm and it was unclear whether he would regain the use of his hand. The injury forced him to miss the entire 2011 F1 season.

And bad luck deserted him again in January of this year when he broke his right leg again after slipping on ice near his Italian home.

With the uncertainty over his hand and the latest leg break, he was forced to miss the 2012 season.

While rumours of his return were quite common in the build-up to the 2011 and 2012 season, there has been little talk of Kubica coming back to F1 in 2013 as the F1 merry-go-round gets into full steam.

In the last two months Kubica has been back behind the wheel of a rally car including a win at the Ronde Gomitolo di Lanna rally in September.

Whether he is physically and mentally ready to step into an F1 car again is still unclear. But even if he is, the options are thin on the ground in 2013.

Contract

At the top end of the grid Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren have seemingly finalised their 2013 driver line-ups, although Ferrari have admitted to keeping in touch with Kubica since his injury.

Further down the grid there are few available seats with only four up for grabs.

Lotus would be an attractive option having won a race last season and finished fourth in the Constructers Championship. They were also the last team he drove with prior to his accident when they were known as Renault.

And they have yet to name a partner for Kimi Raikkonen, although their 2012 driver Romain Grosjean has probably done enough to retain his seat, despite concerns over his recklessness.

However Kubica has a contract with the team until the end of this year so if he can prove his fitness he may overtake Grosjean in the reckoning.

If that does not work out for either party it is likely that Kubica will spurn overtures from backmarkers like Marussia and Caterham, which leaves only one option: Force India.

A solid mid-table constructor which scores solid points each season, the Pole may sense an opportunity to rebuild his career away from the pressure at the front of the grid and prove his worth partnering Paul Di Resta.

If he can get a race seat next season, many will hope that it will be the first step to battling Vettel and Hamilton consistently again.