Poland's F1 sensation Robert Kubica admits: "I did not expect to be leading the championship after seven races, "as our car is not the absolute fastest on the grid..."

Robert Kubica has told BMW-Sauber he needs a 'better car' if he is to properly fight for the Formula 1 World Championship laurels this year - something that at the start of the season both he and the team had insisted was merely a pipe dream for 2008.

The Pole - undoubtedly the sensation of the campaign to-date - leapt to the top of the drivers' standings following his flawless triumph in the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend, and having assumed a three-point advantage over erstwhile leader Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, and four ahead of reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen, the word in the paddock is that Kubica might - just might - be in the mix for glory season-long. He has insisted, though, that there can be no let-up if that is to be the case.

"I did not expect to be leading the championship after seven races," he candidly admitted, "as our car is not the absolute fastest on the grid. However, we have total reliability.

"We were still experiencing a few problems in this area last year, but since then we've made huge improvements, added to which the pit crew has done a great job, as has everybody in the team.

"[Canada] was a wonderful feeling, not only for me but for the whole team, for everybody who contributed to the win. Of course we had a little luck, but we earned that good fortune [and] in the end we were able to celebrate a one-two victory. The final 15 laps were the longest, but also the most relaxed laps of my Formula 1 career so far, as I had no more pressure and only needed to bring the car home.

"I have collected points regularly so far, but I don't know if that is going to continue. I will focus on the grands prix one at a time and try to take maximum points in every situation. Consistency is an important factor, and I hope we are able to make further improvements to the car - then we can achieve good things.

"We need a better car, faster driving and better lap times. It will then be much easier to fight [for the title]. As long as our rivals have problems or drivers [make] mistakes, we can hope that we will manage to keep the lead.

"Whatever happens, we have to do all we can to make the best of the situation. After all, who knows if I will ever get a chance like this again? One thing is for sure - I'll be giving it everything."

Indeed, Kubica's Montreal success - as he seamlessly mastered the madness around the challenging Circuit Gilles Villeneuve whilst others, Hamilton amongst them, lost their heads - marked his fourth rostrum finish of a near-impeccable campaign and his breakthrough victory in only his 29th start in the top flight. The Sunday Times' correspondent in Kraków, Kamil Tchorek, acknowledged that the 23-year-old is fast becoming something of a national hero.

"Despite being regularly let down, Poles have always been very passionate about sport," Tchorek underlined. "Kubica, who never seems to make a mistake, is becoming a superstar.

"People can't quite believe he's so good, not least because Polish roads and drivers are among the most dangerous in Europe. There's a joke that he became so good in order to survive, but everybody is following his progress now."

"If I had been born just ten years before, it was not possible to go in and out of Poland at all," Kubica added. "Even when we were going out of Poland for racing, in 1996 [or] 1997, it was still unusual. Karting? What is it? Nobody knew, and often on the border they opened our truck to see what we had.

"It was the same thing with sponsors - it wasn't easy. Nobody in Italy was interested in sponsoring a Polish driver, and Polish sponsors didn't know what karting was; they thought it was for playing indoors, for fun.

"Now in some ways things have changed - partly due to some people who have helped me, and because of my being in F1 - but still for many people in Poland my career started in 2006, so there is not really a lot of knowledge. They know a bit about F1 now, but nothing below it.

"It's a start, but it's better to have a solid foundation of knowledge. I try to explain to people that if you want to help young racing drivers, you have to start to help them when they are [in] karting. Now is a good moment because everybody is waking up.

"Companies want to get close to motor racing because it's in the media, so it is the right time to promote karting, to find someone with a good programme [and] good ideas. It doesn't mean we will find good drivers, but at least we will be trying.

"My work is to be a racing driver, though, not a manager or to help Polish motorsport to grow up. The best way I can help is to be as successful as possible. When I was in karting, people would ask where I am from and they would say, 'Ah, [Zbigniew] Boniek and the Pope' - these two people only.

"Now Polish drivers in karting, they come into the paddock and say where they are from and people say, 'Ah, Kubica', so it's a bit easier…but still not easy."

Nick Heidfeld, meanwhile, whom Kubica has roundly out-classed thus far in 2008 and invariably outpaced on Saturday afternoons, has spent time trying out new solutions to better tailor the Munich and Hinwil-based squad's F1.08 to his driving during testing in Barcelona.

The experienced German's smooth style has seen him encounter difficulties this year in warming his tyres up as swiftly as does his young team-mate's more aggressive manner behind the wheel, costing him vital grid spots and therefore, by extension, positions in the races too.