BMW pin hopes on upgrades

Kubica: Hoping for significant improvement

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• Robert Kubica

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BMW Sauber are hoping an "extensive" upgrade package can help revive their flagging fortunes at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Despite being billed as possible title contenders after a stellar 2008 campaign, the Swiss German team's form has faltered this season.

They made a reasonable start, with Robert Kubica fighting for second place before colliding with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in Australia, before team-mate Nick Heidfeld finished second in the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix.

However, their form has since taken a dip, with neither driver making it into the final qualifying segment in China and Bahrain - Kubica and Heidfeld bringing up the rear of the field at Sakhir.

The four points Heidfeld scored at Sepang therefore constitutes the team's sum total, leaving them down in sixth place in the constructors' standings.

Their move backwards can be attributed to a lack of upgrades on their F1.09 chassis in the opening fly-away races - BMW Sauber failing to introduce any new parts while their rivals continued to improve their cars.

However, that will change at the Circuit de Catalunya as they are set to unveil major aerodynamic upgrades, with team boss Mario Theissen readily admitting that more performance is badly needed.

"Traditionally this represents something of a second start to the season," he said. "For the BMW this applies more so than usual this year, as we cannot be satisfied at all with the first four races of the season.

"After our positive winter testing, all of us at BMW envisaged a rather different start to the season. The car is not fast enough and we have recorded only one podium finish - Nick Heidfeld's second place in Malaysia.

"We are approaching this challenge in a positive way and are working intensively in Munich and Hinwil to get back to our old form. We will be lining up in Barcelona with an extensive aerodynamics-focused development package, and are already working on further upgrades to be introduced later on in the season."

Kubica added: "We will bring a new aero package and we hope to improve significantly compared to our recent performance, as it is our goal to close the gap to the top teams."