Kubica fears rivals are closing in on BMW

Just two weeks on from his and his team's maiden victory in Canada, Kubica is worried that his team's struggles at the French Grand Prix may not just be the result of the F1.08 not being particularly well suited to the Magny-Cours circuit.

Instead, he thinks rivals Renault and Toyota may have made a step forward in performance in the recent Barcelona test - which has leapfrogged them ahead of BMW Sauber.

When asked if he was worried if Fernando Alonso's third place on the grid was a sign of the progress he had made, Kubica said: "It's not just Fernando, I think Renault are catching up.

"They were close in Canada and Monaco, and Alonso is in front here. Nelson Piquet was also a lot better, I have to say. He was in front of Nick (Heidfeld) I think. Red Bull, Renault and Toyota all lot stronger here than they used to be in the past."

Kubica has found himself no match in pure pace for Ferrari or McLaren this weekend and thinks he is in for a tough time in Sunday's race.

"The race will be difficult. We are starting from the third row, which is not bad but the gap to the front is quite big. There are also a couple of new cars around us, Renault, Toyota and Red Bull, closing the gap in the last three races.

"Here they are in front of us so it looks like they improve compared to us more, from the last couple of races."

And Kubica is adamant that the historic 1-2 for his team in Montreal has changed nothing for himself or the team.

"No. In the end we won the last Grand Prix because we used the opportunity given to us by Ferrari and McLaren," he said. "My two biggest competitors, (Lewis) Hamilton and (Kimi) Raikkonen, went off, and Felipe Massa had a refuelling problem. In qualifying we were helped by the track condition.

"In the previous races we had been behind them and it is good that we used this opportunity, but realistically seeing the lap times of Canada, on full pace we were not winning.

"The gap was pretty big, not as big as here, but still big enough. So I am not feeling different. This is just the reality."