Renault stunned by Kubica's pace

Kubica will start alongside Mark Webber on the front row in Monte Carlo after putting in his and Renault's best performance of the season so far.

And with his strong pace - especially on the prime tyres - making him a contender for outright victory, Boullier has nothing but praise for the job that Kubica is doing at the moment.

"I am just speechless because he is doing really, really a perfect job," Boullier told AUTOSPORT. "Obviously I think Mark did a very, very good lap - and although it would have been possible to close up, I am not sure we could have taken pole.

"But considering where we have come from before, I am very happy that we have improved in such a way, and that fighting for pole is not only a dream."

Boullier thinks that the key to Renault's strong rate of improvement this season has been in getting the outfit's focus back on racing - after the troubles it went through with the Singapore Grand Prix race fix controversy last year.

"I think the key - because there are many details as well - has been to put the team focus back on racing," said Boullier. "That was the first step. And also we had to make sure we had a good car and a good development rate.

"The other factor is obviously a good surprise, the cherry on top of the cake, and that is having the perfect relationship between the driver and the team. That is the couple of tenths that are not predictable."

And although Kubica has a good chance of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Boullier is more cautious - and well aware how important the run to the first corner will be.

"I think we need to see the start and then the first corner, and then we will see strategy," he said. "You can never be confident, especially in street racing, but we are in a far better situation than starting behind."