The Canadian GP winner, and seven-time visitor to the podium this season, found himself with an outside chance of championship glory right up until the penultimate race of the season.
But qualifying outside the top ten in Shanghai, allied with Hamilton’s dominance of the race, quickly pulled the trigger on what was already an unlikely scenario.
The Pole, who will enjoy a fresh engine and gearbox for Brazil, has now set his sights on defending third place: “I m currently third in the drivers standings, six points in front of Kimi, and, of course, it s my aim to defend this position,” he said.
“Brazil is traditionally the final race of the season, and Interlagos is a very demanding and interesting circuit. My first race there was in 2002 in Formula Renault, and I ve been back with the BMW Sauber F1 Team for the last two years.”
“Interlagos is physically very tiring because we drive the circuit anticlockwise. That s something we re not used to, and we feel it especially in the neck.”
Kubica also has a critical role to play in the outcome of the constructors fight, with BMW Sauber only ten points behind second place-sitters McLaren.