BMW-Sauber has slipped some way behind 2008
Formula 1 pace-setters
Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes – that is the view of
Robert Kubica, who only two races ago registered the Bavarian marque's breakthrough triumph in the top flight in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Following that remarkable success – when the Pole took full advantage of
Lewis Hamilton and
Kimi Raikkonen's pit-lane fracas – BMW endured a frustrating time at Magny-Cours last weekend, with Kubica lining up more than half a second off the pace in qualifying in fifth and achieving the same position in the race, with team-mate
Nick Heidfeld an even lowlier 13th at the chequered flag.
Despite speculation in the wake of his Montreal victory – one that propelled him to the top of the drivers' standings – that he may be capable of battling for the title this year, the man from Kraków has repeatedly sought to play down any such suggestions. He claims the gap separating BMW from its two chief rivals in terms of on-track performance is wider than it was back at the beginning of the campaign, when he had qualified on the front row of the grid in Melbourne.
“We didn't stay [with Ferrari and McLaren],” he is quoted by
ITV as having told reporters during pre-British Grand Prix testing at Silverstone this week. “It looks like we didn't [improve] as much as them and the gap is pretty big – in Magny-Cours it was nearly one second.”
Kubica did, however, underline his belief that after taking a few wrong turns in terms of preparation for the French Grand Prix – by some margin
BMW's least convincing outing of the season to-date – he is hopeful of being back to ‘normal pace' at
Silverstone, where this time twelve months ago he came home a strong fourth.
