by Chris Hayes

BMW Sauber aces Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica - the driving architects behind BMW's formidable rise to power in this year's F1 World Championship - are conf🍌ident they can carry their title contending form into the European season which kicks off in Barcelona next week.

It has been a dream start for the Hinwil and Munich based outfit with three consecutive♛ podiu🎃ms in as many races and a stunning pole position courtesy of Robert Kubica in the last race at Bahrain.

After some auspicious podium charges from both drivers the🙈 team find themselves, somewh🃏at unexpectedly, heading into the European season as championship leaders, one point ahead of rivals Ferrari and two points clear of McLaren.

F1's spring break has turned into something of an 'arms race' with all of the teams running new aerodynamic pack🧔ages at the 🌠mechanically demanding Circuit de Catalunya in testing ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix next week.

Nick Heidfeld, who is gnawing at the heels of championship leader Kimi Raikkonen in the title race, is confident that the developments made to his F1.08 spec🦋 car will enable the team to maintain their impressi♑ve early season pace.

"Now the question🌜 everybody wants to hear the answer to is: ꦍhow well are the new components, with which we've modified the BMW Sauber F1.08 since the initial overseas races, going to work?

"I'm also very keen to see whether we have made mor🥀e progress with💦 our new developments than the competition.

"At any r𓆉ate, I'm confident that we will be just as strong as in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain."

But theꩵ German warned that strong testing form at the Circuit de Catalunya does necessarily guarantee success on race day.

"It has often been the case that a set-up determined during testﷺing was no longer the right one for the race weekend. That could be due to the weather or to the condition of the track, which naturally accumulates much more rubber deposits over a grand prix weekend than during testing."

Robert Kubica - who flies out to Barcelona on the back of his first career pole position at the Bahrain Grand Pr🐟ix a for꧑tnight ago, which he translated into a superb third place - is expecting a much tighter field spread at the Spanish Grand Prix.

"I think we will h👍ave a more predictable race than the first ꦆthree overseas grand's prix," revealed the Pole.

"The conditi🌠ons this time round are completely different. All t🐼he teams know the Barcelona circuit like the back of their hands because we do a lot of testing here.

"Thꩵat's wh💧y I expect the gaps between the teams to become a lot smaller than in the last races."

But the 23-year-old was confident that BMW would be able to mount a challenge on the front-runners o🍌nce again.

"Everyone will be coming to the season's first European grand prix on top form. I guess all the team🐻s will be lining up with an improved car.

"But at the same time that ꧙means we also have to get the maximum out of the BMW Sauber F1.08. If we manage that, and since the latest test in Barcelona I am firmly convinced we will, I'll be racing right up at the front again."