Kubica: “Getting closer to the lead”

Robert, the new season opens in barely a month. How do you feel about the challenge that awaits you?
After a long winter break, we always feel ready to jump in the car and this season that?s particularly true. My car wears new colors, but there are also big changes in the regulations, such as the ban on dual diffusers, the introduction of movable rear wings and new Pirelli tires. Lots of new things to get used to before the first race, but we will give our best to arrive as ready as possible for the start of the season.

This will be your second season with this team. Does this make it easier to get the best out of you and the car?
Obviously, when you join a team, you have to get to know the people and the way they work. So it's an advantage not to have to worry about that this year because I know what to expect. It will be easier to concentrate on getting the most out of the car and improving performance.

Do you think the competition will be different in 2011 thanks to the new rules?
It will undoubtedly be a little different, but not more difficult because, in any case, conducting a F1 at the limit is always difficult. Drivers will definitely have more work to do with KERS and the adjustable rear wing. But it probably won't be more complicated than last year with the F-duct. In fact, it won't be any worse to have both hands on the wheel again! We will definitely need all our concentration during the first days of testing to understand the new systems. But I'm sure we'll get used to it quickly and everything will become automatic without delay.

Is the movable rear wing good news for drivers?
For me, it will clearly create more overtaking opportunities, which is good for F1. But we must be careful that it does not give too great an advantage to the car behind. If it overshoots every lap for that reason, I don't think it's very exciting. Another point we need to think about is the gearbox ratios. It will be very tricky to define the ideal settings, especially for sixth and seventh gears. Even if you find a good setting for qualifying with the free use of the wing, you will also have to find a good compromise for the race when its use is restricted.

Will it be difficult to complete the work program during the winter tests and be ready for the first race?
It's never easy as the number of testing days is limited, but I think we will have just enough time to be ready for Bahrain. It will depend on how the first tests go and we must hope not to encounter any surprises that cost time on track. With so many changes, the task is heavier than in previous years. Understanding the KERS, the rear wing and the new tires will take quite a few laps. In fact, learning the tires will be the most time consuming because we will have to ride with each type of rubber in different conditions and with different fuel levels. I'm crossing my fingers for a smooth start to testing so that I can work on performance as soon as possible.

What are your hopes and expectations for this year?
My goal, as always, is to deliver consistently good performances all season long. This is the goal of every pilot. For the moment, it is difficult to predict the competitiveness of our package, but the engineers have counted on an innovative design and that is very good. We had a good season last year and we hope to progress further and get closer to the lead. This means that we will have to fight against Ferrari, McLaren et Red Bull and we know how difficult it is. But we are working very hard to make sure we are part of this fight.