Kubica revelling in Renault atmosphere

The Polish driver has joined Renault this season having spent his whole Formula 1 career so far with BMW Sauber, where he took his maiden grand prix win in Canada in 2008.

"I have found what I was looking for - a motivated team that is really nice to work with," said Kubica in an exclusive interview with this week's AUTOSPORT magazine.

"I've got back something of the feeling like it was 10 years ago when I was in karting. Everything is much easier; it's not as stressful, not as strict.

"I want to have a good atmosphere in the team because, if you can have that, in the difficult times you can fix your problems more quickly. Even though results are not great, you still enjoy it."

He hinted that the Renault team had a less corporate feel than his previous home with BMW.

"Some teams are more open, some teams are more closed," Kubica said. "Some are proper racing teams, some are more like companies. I've had just two teams in F1, so it's difficult to judge, but everything is easier at Renault."

Although Renault has not been a title contender since 2006, and struggled to eighth place in last year's constructors' championship, Kubica said its disappointing recent form did not mean it would not be a frontrunner in 2010.

"From experience, you can never know which team will be the strongest," he said.

"There is more of a guarantee that top teams like Ferrari and McLaren, even if they have 'slow' cars, will still be able to win races.

"But BMW in 2008 and 2009 is a good example. We were very strong in 2008 and targeted the world championship in 2009 - look what happened. So there is no guarantee."

See this week's AUTOSPORT magazine - now available as a Digital Edition - for a full analysis of Kubica's move to Renault and click here for AUTOSPORT F1 editor Edd Straw's column on why the Pole is the right man for Renault.