Kubica: New rules reward clever driving

The ban on refuelling this year has forced a need for drivers to look after their tyres for much longer stints in races, especially with the need for just a single pitstop in dry weather events.

Kubica believes the lessons of the first four races this season show that drivers now need to think their way through races, rather than simply go for the quickest laps.

"This year the trends have been different," said Kubica, who has helped his Renault team emerge as one of the surprises of the season so far.

"This year it is very important to take care of the tyres and somehow drive in the clever way - not just push for two or three laps because then the tyres degrade.

"Now we need to think about bringing the car as quickly as possible to the finish line at the end of the race - not as quickly as possible for one or two laps.

"So somehow you have to anticipate some balance changes, or pressure or differential settings to help the tyres in order to give you a better race time distance."