BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica has emerged this season as a genuine title threat to the big two of Ferrari, who have Kimi Raikkonen on board, and McLaren, with Britain's Lewis Hamilton.

His appearance as a top-level racer has been remarkable considering that he was a test driver in 2006 and made the step up midway through that season.

Kubica is a man who has spent his entire life driving four wheels. His pedigree is of a driver who loves racing. He began competing in the Polish Karting Championship at an early age, winning a collection of trophies and titles, until he moved to compete in the Italian Karting Championships.

'It was in his second race, at the Italian Grand Prix, that he finished on the podium - a result which influenced BMW to state that he would finish the season as the team's second driver'


In 1998 Kubica became the first man outside of Italy to win the title, and was a strong competitor in the European Karting Championships. The following year he was a constant figure in the German Karting season, as well as being the champion of the prestigious Monaco Kart Cup. He was a contender in the CIK FIA World Karting Championships, but played second fiddle to Danilo Rossi.

Starting his professional racing career in 2000, he joined Renault as a test driver. He competed in the Formula Renault Championships, in both the Italian and Euro Cup championships. While he did not set the racing world on fire, 2002 saw him win four races and score a second place in the Italian Formula Renault 2000.

He moved to the Formula 3 Euro Series, but made a near-heroic debut at the Norisring driving with a severe arm injury to win his debut Formula 3 race in front of more than 100,000 spectators.

His season was cut short by this injury, but in 2004 he improved to finish seventh. Towards the end of the year, he set two records in the Macau F3 Grand Prix, winning pole position, and then breaking the all-time lap record before finishing second.

In 2005 he signed with the Epsilon Euskadi and he had a breakthrough season in the World Series for Renault, winning four races before going through to take the championship. He then competed again in the Macau F3 Grand Prix and went on to become runner-up for the second consecutive year.

It was hot on the heels of these results that he earned a test with the Renault F1 team in Barcelona. Shortly after, he was signed by BMW Sauber as their official test driver - and it was midway through the 2006 season that he took over racing from former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

It was in his second race, at the Italian Grand Prix, that he finished on the podium - a result which influenced BMW to state that he would finish the season as the team's second driver. However, he was too ambitious. He pushed his car too hard, leaving the track throughout races and making poor decisions on his tyre choices.

In 2007 he started the season strongly, finishing in the top six in his first five races of the season. At the Canadian Grand Prix, he was in a horrific accident in which his car allegedly pulled in excess of 75Gs after rebounding off a wall. It was great testament to the technology currently in Formula One cars that he walked away with nothing worse than a sprained ankle and concussion.

He returned and made two consecutive fourth-place finishes in France and at Silverstone. Apart from a further retirement, he would not finish worse than ninth at any race in the season, recording seven top-five finishes. He would finish the season in sixth place.

Despite his BMW P86/8 engine having a considerable disadvantage against the power and reliability of the Ferraris and McLarens, the Polish driver has emerged as a genuine contender.

It will be a difficult task to break the Formula 1 domination of the big two but Kubica has a real chance - despite the team itself admitting it is far behind the Italian and British elite constructors.