BMW now a top team, says Hamilton

With Robert Kubica having taken BMW Sauber's maiden pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix, in the wake of podium finishes for the team in the first two races, Hamilton sees the German car manufacturer as a genuine threat to McLaren and Ferrari.

"That's how it looks, definitely," said Hamilton after qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. "There's myself, Kimi and Heidfeld in the standings, and we are all quite close. And in terms of the constructors' championship, we are all quite close again.

"They (BMW) seem to have made a big step forward and are a lot closer to us at least. But we're going to continue to push, and the team is continuing to do that and improving the car all the time."

Hamilton has conceded that the arrival of BMW in that battle for pole positions and wins has made his team's strategy choices more complicated.

"I wouldn't say it makes it more difficult, but obviously we have to take into account the pace of the BMWs - which we didn't have to do so much last year because we were mainly targeting Ferrari.

"Now we obviously have to make sure whatever strategy we pick, we don't get jumped by the BMWs and people behind us, because the grids are a lot closer than last year. That's more exciting for us and more challenging for everyone."

Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen said he is not really surprised by BMW Sauber's strong start to the campaign, even though many were predicting a straight head-to-head battle between McLaren and Ferrari.

"I always said that we should never discount anyone," said the Finn. "We have to be prepared for everybody and that's certainly been the case with the BMW.

"They already were strong in the winter and people who looked at the times and runs closely could see that. So, to me, it wasn't a surprise.

"I think they're going to be there all the time and we've got to keep working together to make our package stronger."