Q & A with Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica: I'm disappointed. I think the qualifying was quite difficult, like the whole weekend until now. Still problems. Overall, the biggest area where I feel the car is worse than before is in the low speed corners, where I think we are losing much more. In the past we were quite strong always in the low speed sectors, where there is slow corners, but here at Magny-Cours we are struggling.

Q. Are you struggling with the kerbs as well?

RK: Kerbs do not help, but already in the corners where there are no kerbs the car is not how I like it to be, with the overall balance and grip. It is not coming from the set-up either, it is overall grip of the car which I feel is quite poor compared to the past.

Q. Where do you expect to be tomorrow?

RK: 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.

Q. Do you think that could be down to strategy?

RK: I don't think so because in Q2 you do not have strategy, and I was nearly out of Q3. But still I managed it and I did what I could.

Q. Are you worried about getting stuck behind Jarno Trulli tomorrow?

RK: I have been behind Jarno a couple of times this season and both times we overtook off the start so we will see. Normally it is difficult to overtake here and I am not worried if it is Trulli, [Fernando] Alonso or [Lewis] Hamilton. For me there is no difference.

Q. Do you think the Fernando Alonso/Renault combination is catching you up?

RK: Not just Fernando, I think Renault is 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 I think. Red Bull, Renault and Toyota all lot stronger here than they used to be in the past.

Q. From a personal point of view do you feel the pressure is off now you have won your first Grand Prix?

RK: No. In the end we won the last Grand Prix because we used the opportunity given to us by Ferrari and McLaren. My two biggest competitors, Hamilton and [Kimi] Raikkonen, went off, 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 daytime laptimes 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.

Q. This time last year BMW had already extended your contract, that hasn't happened this year, is that because you are keeping your options open?

RK: We are not talking about next year yet. There is a long way to go and at least for me and BMW it is not really necessary to have a deal already done. We have time.