“I was trying to keep a consistent pace and increase the gap to the drivers behind. We know we cannot keep [up] behind
Ferrari, but I was trying to make up time as I was expecting
McLaren to come on strong. It didn't happen, luckily for us, and we had quite good pace for the whole race. I saw after the second pit-stop that Heikki was around 17 seconds behind me and wasn't closing the gap.
“We did the last pit-stop and then just pulled down the revs to keep the engine a bit fresh for the next grand prix, which is very important. With the heat it was a tough race and I didn't feel well all weekend. I was a bit sick, and our new car is very hot inside. The last ten laps were pretty tough to keep the concentration.”
Kubica re-iterated that
BMW's early-season form had come as something of a surprise to everyone within the team following the
F1.08's somewhat difficult birth, with a brace of podium finishes, a challenging second place in the constructors' world championship and becoming the only squad to have made it into the top ten in qualifying with both drivers for 20 races in succession, stretching all the way back to the end of the 2006 campaign. He remained adamant that there was still work to do before the Munich and Hinwil-based concern could take the fight to its Maranello rivals on a regular basis, however.
“I think we have to be happy with our pace now because at the start of the season it did not look so good,” the 23-year-old stressed. “It is very difficult to say where they [Ferrari] are quicker. For sure on top speed we are lacking a bit, and that makes for tough racing because you have to push really hard in the corners knowing that on the straight you will be losing a bit of a gap.
“Especially over long distances in races it is not easy with tyre degradation, and with the new tarmac and the new asphalt in Sepang we were lacking traction compared to last year, so we will have to work on that.
