Kubica fears BMW losing ground

Although the Pole started the season battling with the two leading teams for pole positions, the last few races have seen the F1.08 slip slightly behind McLaren and Ferrari as the teams undertake a season-long development push.

And with Kubica qualifying fifth at Monaco, and off the first two rows of the grid for the second consecutive race, he is worried that his team are edging further away from McLaren and Ferrari.

"I think our team was the most consistent in the first three races, with less problems, and that is why I think we could extract more from the car," explained Kubica. "But lately I think we struggled a bit more.

"You just need to look at the results in qualifying and I think the answer is clear - it is harder. In Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain with good driving I could be on the first or second row easy, and now I struggle to stay close to fourth. So things are changing, although it is still good enough to be fifth.

"I think in the last two races the situation looks more like last year. So the top four cars are a couple of tenths in front and the others are a couple of tenths behind."

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen is confident that his team can match McLaren and Ferrari's rate of development over the forthcoming races - something Kubica is eager to see.

"I think we have to work hard and of course all the team are working hard to improve," he said. "I hope we will get some new parts which will give us better handling and better lap times, because I think Ferrari and McLaren are really pushing to get improvements on the car."