• Singapore Grand Prix

Kubica not expecting Monaco repeat

Robert Kubica was very quick on the streets of Monaco in May © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• 1. • Singapore Grand Prix
  2. • Monaco Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Robert Kubica

• Teams:
• Renault

Robert Kubica has played down the chances of a repeat of his Monaco performance at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

The Marina Bay circuit is often compared to the streets of Monte Carlo where a similar, high-downforce set-up is required. Kubica qualified on the front row in the Principality and then finished on the podium behind the two pace-setting Red Bulls.

However, with several major upgrades to his car and his competitors' cars since the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Kubica remains cautious about his chances.

"I think we must be careful not to take anything for granted," he said. "It's true that Singapore is the closest circuit to Monaco in the calendar, but Monaco was over four months ago. I'd like the car to be as competitive and easy to drive as it was back then, because it makes it easy for me to push straight away and easier for the engineers to work on extracting the final bit of performance. But things change quickly in Formula One and it may not be the case.

"My approach will be as usual: I will keep in mind that we are fighting in a very strong pack of cars, and lately teams like Williams have come very strong, so we need to wait and see. But I'm definitely looking forward to a good performance."

He added that the car needed to be a good all-rounder for Singapore but with a focus on suspension settings and the car's ride over the bumpy surface.

"The aero side is still very important but because it's bumpy and there are many low-speed corners, the car has to be as good as possible in terms of mechanical grip," he said. "The behaviour of the car needs to be right: you're often using the kerbs in the low speed corners, and limited for mechanical grip, so the car must be easy to drive and give the driver confidence to attack the kerbs, if you want to extract the maximum from the package.

"The other factor is that because this is a temporary circuit, the grip levels develop much faster and much more than on a permanent track. So you need to anticipate the track evolution and what it will change for the car balance."

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