Q & A with Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica: I think there are many question marks as usual in Monaco. It's a completely different type of race track and it is very important that the car gives you confidence to push.

On street circuits it's very important that the car is easy to handle and to drive, and as we saw last year, Ferrari struggled here so you can never be sure of your pace around Monaco. So, as I said, there are many question marks and we will have to wait and see until tomorrow to know where we are.

Q. With Ferrari potentially taking a step back here then, is Monaco one of the best chances for BMW to take that win?

RK: I don't think that they will take a step down. I don't think that Ferrari is the kind of team that makes the same mistake twice. I am pretty sure they analysed what went wrong last year and they will have worked to be better prepared for this grand prix.

I think our car is well suited to the track, last year we were very competitive here, but as I said, reactivity is pretty important here. I think reactivity was better on last year's car, but we still have to see if this will be okay. If so then I am expecting us to be quite strong, but we will have to see.

Q. Is that down to wheelbase or set-up?

RK: I think last year Ferrari struggled mainly with the [longer] wheelbase. And this year our car has a much longer wheelbase than last year's, and we can suffer a bit but we will see.

Q. Do you think you can win here if Monaco throws up some random factors?

RK: It's difficult. I will try to do my best, but I am not saying we will win. I think McLaren will be very strong here as they usually are, and I hope at least to be as competitive as last year and then we will try to do our best, but I think a win will be very difficult.

Q. As a driver, do you ignore the glamour of Monaco? Is it a special weekend for you or just another race day?

RK: It's just a race weekend. I like Monaco, not because of everything else around it, but because it is a street circuit. I am very happy that we also have Singapore and Valencia on the calendar this year and not just Monaco. I enjoy driving F1 cars around here and it doesn't matter to me what is going on around me. We are here to work and to do our best.

Q. Is that because you get a bigger thrill by the danger element of the street circuits?

RK: I find driving on the street circuits more challenging and the margin for error is much smaller. In Bahrain, or Turkey or even Barcelona if you go off you can come back. You can take to the run-off area and you lose maybe a second. Here when you make a mistake, you come back, but without wheels! That is the biggest difference. That is why the car has to be easy to drive and give you the confidence to push otherwise, if the car is difficult to drive, then it is very easy to make mistakes and then you never find your rhythm.

Q. Is it flattering to be linked to other teams at the moment? Would you like to stay with BMW?

RK: I think there are too many rumours, and that is why I am not commenting on them. I don't know about my future. It is the same as what I knew two months ago, so nothing has changed.

Q. If BMW took up the option on you, would you be happy with that?

RK: We will see. I am not concentrating on next year. I am just trying to do my best job and we will see if my job of this year is enough to stay with BMW or not, and what will happen we will see.

Q. Will the lack of a spare car this year change the approach to the weekend? A crash on Saturday morning, for example, would mean starting from the pitlane.

RK: It depends how heavy the crash is! Normally on Saturday you always take it a bit calmer in final free practice. The approach of this Thursday's practice may be a bit more aggressive, to just find the limit. But also the track conditions are always changing as more and more rubber goes down, and then there is also the weather. Of course we will have to be more careful because to crash on Saturday morning would not be the best idea.

Q. Last year your team took a very different strategy route, filling heavy which cost you with no safety car. Do you think they are more likely to take a traditional option this year?

RK: The risk of a safety car is always very big in Monaco. But as you saw with my race last year, we were hoping for a safety car and it didn't come out. But without traction control this year we have a seen more accidents and I think the risk is a bit bigger.

Last year I think I started eighth or ninth with a really full car, but when you start there you are in the traffic and you cannot overtake, you just wait for everybody else to pit and then you have maybe ten or 15 laps to get them back, but already on lap one I was eighth or ninth and 10s behind the leaders so if you want to try for the podium you have to start on the first two rows.

But of course, once the SC comes out, then you get good luck. But if you get good luck, then the top guys can get it as well. It is something very strange.

Q. You have beaten Nick in every qualifying session this year, how much does this mean to you?

RK: I think my confidence is very similar to before. I think the performance of this year compared to last, is just different because I am struggling much less than last year. Last year I was struggling very, very much and only a few people realised this problem. This season is much easier for me and maybe it is coming from there, but the confidence has always been the same.

Q. But in a year when both drivers' contracts are up for renewal, it will surely help your position inside the team?

RK: I don't know if both contracts end this year. Of course it is good to be quicker than my team-mate, but I have a different approach to him. I am not racing against him, I am racing against everybody else. Normally if you beat everybody, you also beat your teammate - and this is my approach.