Following his best ever finish of second place in the Malaysian GP, Robert Kubica once again made headlines when he secured BMW-Sauber's first pole position during Q3 for the Bahrain GP: edging out Felipe Massa by a hair raising 0.027s. Although Kubica dropped to third position in just one lap (excessive wheel spin problems at the start and lack of grip thanks to oil on the track), F1's first ever Polish driver still managed to impress by keeping second placed Kimi Raikkonen under pressure throughout most of the first stint.
Of course, the Ferraris were simply quicker than everyone else and therefore ran away with a 1-2 finish. There was no way the BMW-Sauber could challenge The Prancing Horse. But that fact should take nothing away from Kubica's performance.
Kubica after all edged out his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld for the second straight GP. During the Bahrain GP, Kubica gambled on a light fuel strategy for the first stint of the race while Heidfeld took a more conservative approach with a heavier fuel load. By the end of the race, Kubica's gamble gave him a three second cushion over his teammate.
Compared to the best finishing McLaren, Kubica made the Woking based squad look like a second rate team after he built a gap of 21.8 seconds from Heikki Kovalainen.
But such a result shoudn't come as a surprise. He did have a third place podium finish in just his third race during the 2006 Italian GP. By the end of the 2006 season, Kubica managed to tally six points for BMW racing in only six GP's. The true value of Kubica's debut could clearly be seen when you factor in the fact that former F1 champ Jacques Villeneuve managed to tally seven points in 12 races driving the same car. Kubica's talent was therefore never really in question.
Sixth place in the overall standings of the 2007 season may not sound like much. But his long absence due to a terrifying shunt in Canada was the only reason why Kubica didn't collect more points.
Now that he has a more consistently competitive car underneath him, Kubica is able to prove that he is indeed among the best of Formula 1's young guns alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen.
And if BMW-Sauber continue their progress and eventually provide a legitimate race winning car, expect Kubica to one day challenge for the title.
Of course, the Ferraris were simply quicker than everyone else and therefore ran away with a 1-2 finish. There was no way the BMW-Sauber could challenge The Prancing Horse. But that fact should take nothing away from Kubica's performance.
Kubica after all edged out his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld for the second straight GP. During the Bahrain GP, Kubica gambled on a light fuel strategy for the first stint of the race while Heidfeld took a more conservative approach with a heavier fuel load. By the end of the race, Kubica's gamble gave him a three second cushion over his teammate.
Compared to the best finishing McLaren, Kubica made the Woking based squad look like a second rate team after he built a gap of 21.8 seconds from Heikki Kovalainen.
But such a result shoudn't come as a surprise. He did have a third place podium finish in just his third race during the 2006 Italian GP. By the end of the 2006 season, Kubica managed to tally six points for BMW racing in only six GP's. The true value of Kubica's debut could clearly be seen when you factor in the fact that former F1 champ Jacques Villeneuve managed to tally seven points in 12 races driving the same car. Kubica's talent was therefore never really in question.
Sixth place in the overall standings of the 2007 season may not sound like much. But his long absence due to a terrifying shunt in Canada was the only reason why Kubica didn't collect more points.
Now that he has a more consistently competitive car underneath him, Kubica is able to prove that he is indeed among the best of Formula 1's young guns alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen.
And if BMW-Sauber continue their progress and eventually provide a legitimate race winning car, expect Kubica to one day challenge for the title.
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