Kubica rues missing on second place

Robert Kubica believes an off-track excursion on the second lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix cost him a chance of fighting for second position.

The BMW driver, who had started from pole position for the first time in his career, lost first place to Felipe Massa at the start.

On the second lap he ran over oil left by Sebastian Vettel`s Toro Rosso and was moments later overtaken by Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the straight.

The Pole said from then it was hard to keep the sort of pace needed to fight for second.

Kubica still managed his second consecutive podium finish with third place, allowing BMW to take the lead in the constructors` championship.

“It`s very good to be on the podium for the second race in a row but without the problems on the second lap, I might have been able to fight with Kimi,” said Kubica.

“I was going to pit. I didn`t have any information about the oil and lost a place to Kimi. But anyway it`s a good result and it`s good for the team to be leading the constructors` championship.”

He added: “I knew I had to make a difference in the first stint but I couldn`t because of the oil problem. Then Kimi overtook me and it was not easy. In windy conditions and running behind a car it`s easy to make mistakes.”

Teammate Nick Heidfeld completed another strong day for BMW, the German finishing in fourth position.

“Now after the race I`m much happier than I was yesterday,” he said. “Having finished fourth is a positive result after what was a difficult weekend for me. The car`s balance on this track was just not how I wanted it to be.

“I hope I won`t have such troubles again. Finishing the race just one position behind my teammate, who started from pole while I was sixth, is a good result. I enjoyed overtaking Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. Once again for us in the team everything went smoothly.”

6.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ www.autosport.com

Kubica rues missing on second place

Robert Kubica believes an off-track excursion on the second lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix cost him a chance of fighting for second position.

The BMW driver, who had started from pole position for the first time in his career, lost first place to Felipe Massa at the start.

On the second lap he ran over oil left by Sebastian Vettel`s Toro Rosso and was moments later overtaken by Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the straight.

The Pole said from then it was hard to keep the sort of pace needed to fight for second.

Kubica still managed his second consecutive podium finish with third place, allowing BMW to take the lead in the constructors` championship.

“It`s very good to be on the podium for the second race in a row but without the problems on the second lap, I might have been able to fight with Kimi,” said Kubica.

“I was going to pit. I didn`t have any information about the oil and lost a place to Kimi. But anyway it`s a good result and it`s good for the team to be leading the constructors` championship.”

He added: “I knew I had to make a difference in the first stint but I couldn`t because of the oil problem. Then Kimi overtook me and it was not easy. In windy conditions and running behind a car it`s easy to make mistakes.”

Teammate Nick Heidfeld completed another strong day for BMW, the German finishing in fourth position.

“Now after the race I`m much happier than I was yesterday,” he said. “Having finished fourth is a positive result after what was a difficult weekend for me. The car`s balance on this track was just not how I wanted it to be.

“I hope I won`t have such troubles again. Finishing the race just one position behind my teammate, who started from pole while I was sixth, is a good result. I enjoyed overtaking Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. Once again for us in the team everything went smoothly.”

6.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Kubica    ▪ www.autosport.com