There has been a definite decline in the performance of the BMW-Sauber car in the latter half of the season so Kubica’s second place on Sunday in Japan are all the more impressive. Kubica qualified well and pushed through to the lead avoiding the first corner melee started by Hamilton. He was overtaken by Alonso in a perfectly balanced Renault during the first round of pit stops and didn’t have the performance to peg him back. During the graining phase on his last set of tyres Raikkonen was able to close the gap from third position and place him under immense pressure. And that’s where Kubica demonstrated an entirely different side to his usual aggressive style. He kept a level head and defended his position from a rampaging Ferrari with a vastly more experienced current World Champion behind the wheel for several laps in a display of defensive driving skills that I haven’t seen the likes of in years. His tyres eventually cleared up and he managed to pull away slightly from Raikkonen to finish comfortably in second.Kubica’s second in Japan also scored him enough points to put him within 7 points of Massa in the Drivers World Championship.He’s still a slim outside chance for the title but one can only wonder… what would have happened if BMW-Sauber hadn’t stopped developing their car early in the season to focus on the 2009 build? What if they hadn’t pooled all their race team resources behind a struggling Nick Heidfeld? Don’t get me wrong… I adore the BMW-Sauber team… but if they had have offered Kubica their full attention in 2008 could they have walked away with the Championship? Dr Mario better have his shiznitz together next year or he'll lose his REAL star driver.
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