Theissen - No Kubica rift

Kubica: Title bid

Related links

Teams

• Sauber

Drivers

• Robert Kubica

Also see

• F1 forum
• Live coverage
• Bet now with Sky Bet

BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen has denied that relations with Robert Kubica have become strained in the wake of the Pole's claims that the team are not doing enough to support his title bid.

Kubica voiced his concerns in the build-up to the Italian Grand Prix, a race in which he subsequently finished third to maintain his bid for the Drivers' Championship - albeit standing 14 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton with four races remaining.

The comments made by the 23-year-old, who briefly led the standings following both his and the team's maiden victory in the Canadian Grand Prix in June, led to reports that his relationship with BMW Sauber had broken down.

However, Theissen has denied this, telling autosport.com: "We sat down twice over the Monza weekend and spent quite some time together. They (the reports) have been totally exaggerated.

"Robert was disappointed after the Spa race and he made some comments which were then turned into much harsher press statements.

"Then, after that, I was asked about the situation in Monza, and my comments were turned into harsh statements as well.

"I was asked in a Friday (press) briefing if the driver could be given a penalty for comments like this, and my answer was: 'I don't talk about contractual content'. The journalist then wrote that Theissen does not rule out a penalty!

"It just tells you that this is made out of almost nothing."

Momentum

However, Theissen did admit that, having achieved their pre-season goal of a race win in Montreal, the team has subsequently lost momentum in the development of their F1.08 car.

"There is certainly an issue we have to discuss, and it is about performance of the car," he added.

"We have not developed as strongly as we expected. We have discussed this several times and I am sure we will keep up the discussions with Robert."