( CNN ) -- Robert Kubica 's Lotus-Renault team said Monday that the F1 star was `` much better '' after undergoing emergency surgery in an Italian hospital following his crash while competing in a motor rally . The 26-year-old Pole spent the night in an induced coma after a seven-hour operation to repair multiple fractures to his right arm and hand . Kubica required several transfusions during the procedure to stabilize his condition after losing a lot of blood following the high-speed accident . But in a statement on the team 's official website , they said that Kubica had been briefly woken by doctors at the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure and was able to talk to his relatives . `` He was also able to move his fingers , which is an encouraging sign for the rest of the recovery process , '' it said . Dr. Mario Igor Rosello , the specialist who operated on Kubica , claimed the lack of swelling or infection on his right forearm was also a `` good sign '' but added it will be `` several days before it is known if the operation is 100 per cent successful . '' Kubica badly hurt in rallying crash . Kubica suffered multiple fractures to his right arm and leg after hitting a guard rail when he lost control of his Skoda Fabia during the Ronde de Andorra rally in Italy . With the first race of the new Formula One season in Bahrain next month , his Lotus Renault team defended Kubica 's decision to take part in a rally so close to the start of the season . `` He loves rallying , '' team boss Eric Boullier told Italian news agency Ansa . `` We knew the risks and so did he . We did n't want a robot or a corporate man for a driver . It was agreed . '' Kubica finished 2010 in eighth position and was due to start his fifth campaign as a first-choice driver , but there are now doubts as to whether the former Sauber driver will be fit to play any part in the 2011 campaign . When asked about the length of time it could take for 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner to recover , Rossello is reported by the BBC to have said , `` One year . One year is the best provision . '' Kubica also suffered fractures to his shoulder and elbow and Lotus Renault said the hospital would decide over the next few days if further operations were necessary on these injuries . Support has been offered from throughout the close-knit world of F1 for the only Polish driver to have ever driven at this level , including a specially-designed `` Twibbon '' on the social-networking site Twitter . McLaren 's 2009 world champion Jenson Button tweeted , `` Shocking news about Robert Kubica . I wish him a speedy recovery . '' Another driver to offer his sympathies was Williams ' veteran Brazilian Rubens Barrichello , who used his Twitter blog to say , `` I would like to ask you for your best wishes to Kubica , '' and `` we all like him and he deserves all the best . '' If Kubica is unable to take to the grid for the start of the season , Lotus Renault may choose to promote one of their two reserve drivers . The team 's two options are Bruno Senna , who raced for HRT in 2010 , and Frenchman Romain Grosjean . The 2011 Formula One season is set to get underway at Bahrain 's International Circuit on March 13 .
NEW : Kubica say Kubica `` much better '' after his rally crash . Robert Kubica required the night emergency operation to his right hand and arm . Surgeon claims it will be next month before it is known if surgery fully successful . His team defend the Pole 's decision to race in a motor rally .