2008 Title Contenders: Robert Kubica

In the second series of our 2008 season review, we take a look back at the 18 rounds from the perspective of the four title contenders - Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Kimi Räikkönen and Robert Kubica, recounting their steps and looking at where the title was won and lost. The first such driver who's season we look back on is BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who ultimately finished fourth in the championship table.

It's difficult to believe that 2008 was only Robert Kubica's second full year in the sport, such has his impact been. It's even more difficult to believe that the Polish driver was in with a fighting chance of winning the drivers' title up until the penultimate round of the season, despite having won just a single race. Over the course of the season however, his consistency was second to none. While Hamilton, Massa and Räikkönen were all falling off the road and dropping points regularly, Kubica's string of strong points finishes kept him in the fight.

After a dreadfully poor pre-season with the F1.08 reliability-wise, few people expected a strong or reliable BMW package for the first race of the season, however, the doubters were to be proved wrong, with both Kubica and Heidfeld performing strongly. Things started off well for Kubica, with him securing his first front-row in second place, albeit with a lighter fuel load. However, his chances of a points finish were robbed when Kazuki Nakajima punted him up the race as the safety car was about to pull in.

However, he made up for his disappointment in spades over the course of the summer, starting off with a strong second place in Malaysia behind Räikkönen. Pole position and third place was the reward from Bahrain, while fourth place in Spain elevated him to fourth in the championship. Another fourth in Turkey and an impressive second place at Monaco saw Robert head to Canada with just six points between him and the championship lead.

But, it was at the Canadian Grand Prix that Kubica's championship challenge would ultimately begin to turn. At the beginning of the season BMW Sauber had set the ambitious goal of winning their first race in 2008, and with the third fastest car in the field, all they needed was for circumstances to fall their way. Those circumstances fell perfectly for them in Canada. Second place on the grid got the ball rolling for Kubica on Saturday, before an out-of-control Lewis Hamilton took out Kubica's main race rivals only 18 laps into the race.

However, even with Hamilton and Räikkönen by the wayside, the race was far from over. Emerging in tenth after his first stop, Kubica found himself behind slower traffic, and losing time to the one-stoppers ahead. Once clear of slower traffic, Kubica put together an impressive qualifying-style stint, which saw him build a sufficient gap to team-mate Heidfeld to emerge comfortably ahead, leading home the first ever BMW 1-2 finish, and their first win. With those ahead of him in the championship failing to score decent points, Kubica jumped into the lead, and seemingly in with a shout of claiming the crown.

Unfortunately for him though, with BMW's goal of a race victory now secured, focus at the team's Hinwil factory switched to the 2009 season, and its raft of aerodynamic regulation changes. In hindsight, with both a drivers' and constructors' championship at stake, the decision could have robbed the team of additional glory.

In France, Kubica battled through a tough race to claim another four points in fifth, before recording his second retirement of the year when he spun off in the torrential rain at Silverstone, robbing him of the chance to retake the championship lead. In both Germany and Hungary, the BMW again failed to perform with Kubica scooping just three more points.

Once back on form in Valencia however, Kubica again showed his strength, and was only beaten to the flag by Massa and Hamilton, finishing on the podium for the fifth time. Sixth place in Belgium was to be followed by another podium finish in Italy, coming from eighth in the opening stages to third at the end. In Singapore two weeks later, circumstances that fell so nicely for him in Canada in June seemed to turn against him, as he was forced to pit under the safety car and incur a 10-second stop-go penalty. Thanks to that, a probable sixth place disappeared, and he took the flag in 11th, now a full 20 points behind the championship leader.

Although things took a turn for the better in Japan, where Kubica led the first stint of the race, before dropping behind Alonso where he stayed to take second, it proved to be a false dawn. At the final two races in China and Brazil, Kubica suffered a loss of grip in his BMW in qualifying, meaning he qualified outside the top ten on both occasions. A valiant drive to sixth in China wasn't enough to keep him in the championship hunt. Things went further downhill for him in Brazil, when eleventh place meant he slipped behind Kimi Räikkönen in the standings, dropping him to fourth place, 23 points behind world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Since breaking into the sport in 2006, few people have dared to question Kubica's talent, and after performing so strongly yet again this year, it's only a matter of time before he becomes world champion. With BMW having invested time and resources in their 2009 project since mid-2008, Kubica's maiden title glory may be sooner than expected, but should BMW not deliver, there will be no dearth of teams knocking on Kubica's door, Ferrari included.