Kubica Picks Up Points in Second Top 10 Finish

Polish F1 star Robert Kubica earned his second strong finish in as many weeks.

After rainy practice sessions in an early southeast monsoon season, the weather permitted the running of the Malysia Grand Prix on Sunday. Kubica came in fourth in the Kuala Lumpur race, advancing two places in the drivers’ cup standings to seventh with three of 19 events completed.

Kubica’s strong finish came after revelations by a leading French racing journal that the Pole has already made arrangements to join the current constructors’ cup leaders, Team Ferrari. Rumors of Ferrari’s interest in Kubica have been circulating since at least 2008, but Auto Hebdo reported that a preliminary deal between the Italian sportscar maunfacturer’s team and Krakow native Kubica has already been signed. Fueling speculation are reports that Ferrari has not expressed willingness to re-sign Felipe Massa as his contract expires at the season’s end. Massa and teammate Fernando Alonso currently top the drivers’ standings in first and second place.

Kubica’s performance in Sunday’s race was strong throughout, and he was briefly in the front three, only to be forced to back down when his engine showed signs of overheating. The driver had been careful to rein in enthusiasm after his second place finish in Melborne, cautioning supporters that the team was not ready to win podiums on a regular basis from a technical standpoint.

Kubica said of Sunday’s race: “I got off to a good start. I was able to jump up to fourth. The tempo was quick and I had to watch out for the McLaren and Ferrari cars catching up. I won more points. Let’s hope it keeps up.”