Kubica 'pretty happy' despite distant fifth

Robert Kubica declared himself pretty happy with his result in the French Grand Prix, despite losing the championship lead

Kubica, who had scored his maiden Formula One victory in Canada two weeks ago, had to settle for fifth place after his BMW Sauber car did not have the same speed it showed in Montreal.

The Pole dropped from first to second in the standings after a dominant display by Ferrari.

And although he admitted he was expecting more points this weekend, Kubica was pleased with the result.

"We didn't score as many points as we wanted to here in Magny-Cours," said Kubica. "Over the whole weekend we tried to minimize the problems we had, and we knew the race would be decided on the first lap.

"At the start I tried to overtake Jarno Trulli, but did not manage it. I tried again in turn 5 on the outside, but it did not work out.

"In the end I have to say I am pretty happy. I finished fifth, only two seconds away from the podium. We now have to analyse what happened here and see how we can improve for the next race."

Teammate Nick Heidfeld had a day to forget, finishing down in 13th place despite no apparent problems.

"Having finished 13th is certainly a disappointing result," he said. "I lost two positions right at the start and could not get them back. Now we will concentrate on next week's test in Silverstone and the forthcoming race there."