My team-mate is not my most important opponent - Kubica

Robert Kubica is currently enjoying better fortune in the Formula One World Championship than his team-mate Nick Heidfeld. However, the Pole is not half as interested in the internal duel as other racing drivers.

Robert currently lies fourth in the Drivers' Championship on 32 points, twelve points ahead of Nick. Furthermore, the 23-year-old has been quicker than his fellow BMW Sauber F1 Team driver in all the qualifying sessions for the Grands Prix so far. However, Robert knows well that things can change very quickly. It is often said that in Formula One your team-mate is your biggest rival, but he does not believe this applies to himself or the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

"That is not my outlook on racing," says Kubica. "My team-mate is not my most important opponent. I don't concentrate so much on him. I know that some other drivers see this completely differently. I, personally, am not racing against my team-mate, but against all 19 drivers. If I leave them all behind me, then I automatically leave my team-mate behind me too."

Robert achieved this recently at the Monaco Grand Prix, where he finished second. The strong showing in the Mediterranean Principality was the highlight of an upward trend shown by the driver from Krakow since the start of the season. Robert has his own explanation for the improvement on last season's performances: "Many factors have come together. If the set-up is not right then you automatically drive slower because you don't have the right grip, meaning you don't feel as secure - it is like a chain reaction. I had some very good races last year, but then there were technical problems and we didn't always have the perfect race strategy - that is all a completely different story this year."