Renault’s Robert Kubica was able to talk to relatives and move the fingers in his injured right hand on Monday morning, after being briefly awoken by doctors at Italy’s Santa Corona Hospital

Kubica was placed into an artificially-induced coma on Sunday after undergoing seven hours of surgery to reconstruct his right forearm, following a high-speed crash whilst competing in the Ronde di Andora Rally

Kubica will be put under gentle medication in order to sleep for the next 24 hours at least. In the meantime doctors will decide how to treat his elbow and shoulder fractures. Kubica may have to undergo surgery once again for this, but not for a few days.