That’s it. It’s all over. The last six months of testing and PR activity paled into insignificance in the early hours of the morning as the teams and drivers finally showed their hand in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Chief amongst those to deliver beyond their pre-season pace was BMW Sauber who followed up their eye-brow-raising 1-2 in Saturday practice by getting both their drivers into the top five.
While an impressive Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position it was his old chum and rival Robert Kubica who stunned the paddock by putting his BMW Sauber on the front-row of the grid alongside the Briton. What’s more he did so after making an excursion onto the grass on the exit of the fast left-right flick.
The 23-year-old Pole was clearly ruing the mistake. And here’s why. Despite all the information coming out of the BMW communications office, the mistake must surely have cost Kubica more than a couple of tenths.
With the absence of traction of control he would have almost certainly had to back off which would have affected his speed all the way along the short straight. A blinding attack on the last few corners minimized the damage, but there is far more to come from Kubica’s F1.08.