Coolly, calmly and very nearly imperceptibly, Robert Kubica raced to his second career rostrum finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The BMW star made amends for the disappointment he suffered in Melbourne a week ago – when he failed to capitalise on his front row starting position after lucking-out with the safety car periods – with a stunning and seemingly effortless drive to the runner-up spot in Kuala Lumpur.
“It's a fantastic day for the team, for Petronas and for me – the second consecutive podium,” rejoiced the ecstatic 23-year-old. “After Monza 2006 I finally managed to get another podium myself. I want to thank everybody in the team who has worked very hard over the last two months to improve the car.”
For a brief moment it looked as though Kubica would be overtaken by his team-mate Nick Heidfeld into the first corner, only for a tangle between the German and Toyota's Jarno Trulli to allow the Pole to seize third place from fourth on the grid.
“I didn't have a good start because of too much wheelspin, and I was fighting with Nick and Jarno Trulli,” he explained. “I took the dirty inside line and almost lost the car, but somehow I managed to get through the corner and overtake them. From this moment on I drove at my own pace.”
Despite Kubica's best efforts to hustle the Ferraris, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa remained firmly out of reach for the BMW ace.
“The Ferraris were too quick,” he candidly acknowledged, “but I was able to increase the gap to the cars following me. After the second pit-stop I reduced the revs to save the engine and took it easy. I didn't feel very well all weekend and it was very hot in the car, so the last ten laps were pretty tough, but it all paid off with a brilliant result.”
crash.net
The BMW star made amends for the disappointment he suffered in Melbourne a week ago – when he failed to capitalise on his front row starting position after lucking-out with the safety car periods – with a stunning and seemingly effortless drive to the runner-up spot in Kuala Lumpur.
“It's a fantastic day for the team, for Petronas and for me – the second consecutive podium,” rejoiced the ecstatic 23-year-old. “After Monza 2006 I finally managed to get another podium myself. I want to thank everybody in the team who has worked very hard over the last two months to improve the car.”
For a brief moment it looked as though Kubica would be overtaken by his team-mate Nick Heidfeld into the first corner, only for a tangle between the German and Toyota's Jarno Trulli to allow the Pole to seize third place from fourth on the grid.
“I didn't have a good start because of too much wheelspin, and I was fighting with Nick and Jarno Trulli,” he explained. “I took the dirty inside line and almost lost the car, but somehow I managed to get through the corner and overtake them. From this moment on I drove at my own pace.”
Despite Kubica's best efforts to hustle the Ferraris, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa remained firmly out of reach for the BMW ace.
“The Ferraris were too quick,” he candidly acknowledged, “but I was able to increase the gap to the cars following me. After the second pit-stop I reduced the revs to save the engine and took it easy. I didn't feel very well all weekend and it was very hot in the car, so the last ten laps were pretty tough, but it all paid off with a brilliant result.”
crash.net