Kubica eyes step forward in Valencia

Just like Red Bull Racing, Renault had hoped that it would get a big benefit from running the Prime tyre in the opening stages of the race - but it found that the medium compound rubber lasted nowhere near as long as predicted.

Kubica's struggles with his tyres was also exacerbated by incidents with other drivers - including a brush with Heikki Kovalainen, an off-track moment with Michael Schumacher and a near-miss with Adrian Sutil as he came in to the pits.

On the back of all those difficulties, Kubica believes the seventh-placed finish he delivered was the best possible.

"Looking at how difficult this race was for us, I think the result was the maximum we could achieve - especially because there were many moments when I thought the race was over," he explained. "I think if we had qualified on the option and started a bit nearer the front, then we could have got some more points.

"Our tyre strategy did not work - although after the race it is easy to say that. We faced a lot of tyre degradation and had to pit very early in the first stint - while in the second stint I had such slow pace as soon as the tyres started going off."

Having learned the lessons from Canada, Kubica believes the extra grip provided by the Valencia circuit, plus development updates that were postponed for this race - including new front suspension - will help his team deliver more speed.

"It is quite a big track with a lot of braking areas and low speed corners," said Kubica. "I am expecting more grip then Canada - which has low grip. And finally we will get the upgrade that we were supposed to get for here."