An overnight national hero

In the past, it was hard to find Poland on the world map of motorsports. Equally, Formula One racing was of no particular public interest in Robert Kubica's native country. However, since the driver of the BMW Sauber F1 Team managed to stand out with fine performances, a noticeable change can be detected.

"Currently, the scene in Poland is exploding," BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen confirms. "Motorsports practically didn't exist there and never aroused any particular public attention. Now everything has changed. Robert has effectively become a national hero overnight. The euphoria in this country is maybe a little less than it was in Germany, when Michael Schumacher competed in his first race."

In 2006, Robert initially gave proof of his great driving skills as the Friday driver of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The Hungarian Grand Prix then marked the first appearance of the 21-year-old driver as the team's GP regular. Third place in the Italian Grand Prix was finally enough to grant Robert the undivided attention of the Polish public. "What a ride" the 'Gazeta Wyborcza' titled, while 'Rzeczpospolita' celebrated the youngster as the "new star of Polish sports".

Robert Kubica himself is slightly more sombre in his assessments of his remarkably successful debut in Formula One racing and is determined to keep his down to earth approach: "I don't want to be popular. I don't like that at all," he says. "The third place was a consequence of the good work of the team. Of course I'm happy, but I prefer to firmly remain on the ground with both feet."