Sport - Racing : Motor

Robert Kubica rues missed pole

MELBOURNE: Robert Kubica will start from the front row of the grid for the first time when the Australian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday, although the BMW Sauber driver thinks it could so easily have been pole position.

Kubica, who lines up beside Lewis Hamilton on the front row at Melbourne, ran wide at turn 12 in his final qualifying lap on the Albert Park circuit on Saturday.

The Polish driver said that error was the difference between first and second position on the grid.

“Yeah, I made a mistake in corner 12 over the grass, I lost more than a couple of tenths (of a second) there,” he said. “That is the risk we took, we knew we could get a good result in qualifying. I took quite a bit of risk, but in the end it didn’t pay off as I lost more than to stay ahead of Lewis.”

Fellow BMW driver Nick Heidfeld will start at No. 5, supporting team principal Mario Theissen’s assertion that BMW Sauber should rightfully be considered third in the team stakes behind Ferrari and McLaren.

Kubica has driven with BMW Sauber since making his F-1 debut in 2006 — the year he made his only podium finish, a third place at Rome. — AP

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu