Kubica not giving up on F1 title despite long odds

SHANGHAI, China – The odds of Robert Kubica winning the FormulaOne championship got a lot longer Saturday, when car trouble left him 11th on the grid for the Chinese Grad Prix. With two races to go, the Polish driver isn’t giving up on the title though, saying he’s been in worse situations. “FormulaOne can change very quickly and you just have to push and never give up. I’m pleased at what we’ve done and the season is still not over yet and we just have to keep pushing, Kubica said. Kubica was 12th fastest in qualifying, but moved up a place after Red Bull driver Mark Webber was penalized 10 places on the grid for having changed his engine and slipped from 6th to 16th. The 11th place start matches the position Kubica was saddled with at the Italian Grand Prix, where he finished third. Kubica said attempts by his BMW Sauber crew to fix his car’s balance had backfired, making it even harder to handle than it had been during the morning practice session. “It was not the best move, but all in all, we had nothing to lose so we had to try, but it just made the situation worse," Kubica said. The 23-year-old has won only one race this year, at Montreal in June, but has steadily put himself into title contention with seven podium finishes, including second at the Japanese GP last Sunday. Mike Hawthorne in 1958 and Keke Rosberg in 1982 are the only drivers to win the championship title with just one GP win. Kubica has accumulated 72 points to be 12 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. He sits just seven points behind second place Felipe Massa of Ferrari. “There are two drivers standing in front. If I want to continue to fight, I need to reach second twice at the least, but lately we’re not getting such good results with our pace," Kubica said. Light rain forecast for Sunday’s race could help mitigate the set-up problems, he said. “I have been in better situations this year, but I have been in worse situations too," he said. “We just have to try." – AP