Former communications chief of McLaren, Matt Bishop, revealed that the team decided against signing Robert Kubica as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for the 2008 season due to the Polish driver’s appearance. According to Bishop, the then-executive director of the team, Martin Whitmarsh, expressed concerns about Kubica’s candidacy because of his nose.
“I remember Whitmarsh stating that one of the issues with Kubica being a potential driver for McLaren in 2008 was that his nose was too big. He actually said that. I think he was joking, to be honest. Martin sometimes had that sense of humor. He believed drivers should have a certain look. Of course, he picked that up from Ron Dennis, who was always very particular about the appearance of his drivers. However, to be fair, I never heard Ron himself complain about Robert’s nose,” Bishop’s comments were reported by PlanetF1, referencing his appearance on the podcast “And Colossally That’s History!”
