Renault's Kubica on the road to recovery

The 26-year-old Pole was operated on for seven hours when he sustained multiple fractures to his right leg and arm after hitting a church wall in Italy on Sunday but may still require further surgery, said his team.

Kubica was initially put in an induced coma but awoke for a short time on Monday morning.

“He was briefly woken up by the doctors,” Renault said in a statement. “He was then able to talk to his relatives. He was also able to move his fingers which is encouraging for the rest of his recovery process.

“In order to avoid any physical stress Robert will be put under gentle medication in order to sleep for the next 24 hours at least. Meanwhile, the doctors will decide how they will treat his elbow and shoulder fractures.

“Robert may have to undergo surgery once again for this but not for a few days,” the statement read.

On Sunday, doctors were worried about the functionality of Kubica’s right hand and predicted he could take a year to recover but Boullier gave an upbeat message a day later.

“When you have a big crash like Robert suffered on Sunday doctors always predict the worst case scenario,” Boullier told the BBC on his way to visit Kubica along with fellow Renault driver Vitaly Petrov.

“He is definitely out for a couple of months. The recovery will be quicker than one year but it is a bit early to know exactly how long he will need.”

Despite Boullier's optimism Kubica’s surgeon said the possible recovery time could be around a year, with the next few days crucial as they wait to see if the operation was totally successful.

“The hand is warm and this means the operation went well,” surgeon Mario Igor Rossello told reporters at the Santa Corona hospital near Genoa.

“We need at least six days to check if the circulation of the blood in the limb responds as it should.”

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso visited him late on Sunday and the Internet and Twitter have been awash with support.  “I am still upset by the news about Robert Kubica. It is shocking...just terrible,” seven-time champion Michael Schumacher said on his website.