Robert Kubica has said that he is happy to be lining up alongside
Nick Heidfeld for a third season, following
BMW Sauber's announcement that it is to retain an unchanged pairing for the 2009
Formula One campaign.
Although one, or both, of the drivers had been rumoured to be leaving or facing the axe in recent weeks, the Hinwil/Munich team closed what had appeared to be an open door to
Fernando Alonso on Monday by confirming Kubica and Heidfeld for next year, with Christian Klien returning as test and reserve driver for a second season. The Pole, however, admitted that the timing of the decision had come as something of a surprise to him, after BMW Sauber insisted that it was in no rush to reveal its hand.
"I think, when you are saying it was not news for me, you are wrong," he claimed, "I knew it not a long time ago, and the team communicated last Monday that we would stay with Nick as team-mates for next year."
There has generally been harmony between the two drivers since Kubica controversially replaced Jacques Villleneuve in 2006, and the Pole admitted that it was probably best for BMW Sauber's stated championship-chasing ambitions that the partnership stays together in a season where the
F1 rulebook changes dramatically.
"I am as always looking for a new challenge, and it's a new year, [with] new regulations and a new car, but the same team, so we will see," he noted, "I think I have quite a lot of experience working with Nick, and I think we are doing a good job. Of course, a new team-mate will give you some new information, and maybe there is new stuff you can learn from it, but I think Nick is doing a good job, so there is no point from my side not to be happy that he is again with me and we are racing together.
"I think we are in a good position for next year, we know each other pretty well and we know the team, so the continuity is very important. Teamwork, that's what we are trying to do."
