Horror smash survivor Kubica now has Hamilton in his sights

The positive gives Kubica confidence every time he is belted into the cockpit. "I know that Formula One cars are very strong," he said.

Because of that strength the 23-yearold, the first Pole to drive in F1, survived an horrific crash in Canada last June when his BMW-Sauber was launched like a rocket off the back of Jarno Trulli's Toyota. The car rammed the barriers at more than 185mph and rolled over and over down the track before finally coming to rest on its side.

Kubica said: "I don't remember hitting the wall but I do remember what I said to myself just before hitting it and you can't print that."

Physically, he escaped with a sprained ankle. Mentally, Kubica insists he suffers no nightmare flashbacks.

"I thought it might affect me, but it really hasn't," he said. What did hurt was the lack of tangible reward for his efforts in his first full season in F1. Results, not wrecks, is the negative that still nags him. "2007 was the first season without a podium in my career," he said. "I believe that trend has turned back in the right direction."

That trend has seen Kubica finish second and third in the last two races in Malaysia and Bahrain. Now he goes into this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona joint third with Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' title chase and with his BMW team topping the constructors' table for the first time.

Kubica's speed, which carried him to a maiden pole position in Bahrain, has been noticed down the pit lane.

Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali admitted: "The pace Robert and BMW have shown deserves respect. He is a driver who I believe will be in the title fight until the end."

For that prediction to be borne out Kubica needs to take his first chequered flag. Having regularly got the measure of Hamilton when they raced karts as youngsters, he derives inspiration from the sensational Grand Prix performances of his British friend and rival.

He said: "Lewis proved last year that if you're a good driver, and have the right equipment, then you can win. But for that to happen to me we need to be quicker than the others."

Albert is working on it. Albert? That is the name given to one of the most advanced industrial computers in Europe. Based at BMW's race headquarters in Switzerland, it is capable of performing 12,288,000,000,000 calculations per second, mostly relating to the aerodynamic performance of the front and rear wings on the BMW racers.

Mario Theissen, BMW's team principal, revealed the advantages gained by exploiting such advanced technology.

He said: "This had a very positive effect in the first three races. We were quick and reliable, and this has put us right up there with the top teams."