By GMM

BMW-Sauber's first sniff of a maiden grand prix victory could come in Monaco or Hungary this year, the team's Polish driver Robert Kubica says.

While now believed to be consistently on or near McLaren's pace with its 2008 contender, the Hinwil based team is yet to truly challenge current pacesetter Ferrari.

BMW wants to secure its first win at the pinnacle of motor racing this season, and 23-year-old Kubica - already with a pole position and two podiums under his belt in 2008 - admits that the feat is getting close.

He thinks the slower circuits, such as Monaco and Hungary, will be particularly competitive for the F1.08.

"We are always very strong in slow corners and slow sectors ... so I think we can be stronger in slow tracks like Monaco and Budapest, the kind of tracks where there are no long straights and many corners," Kubica is quoted as saying by the news agency Reuters.

"Maybe there we will have some chance. But a lot will depend on how quick we develop compared to the others," he added.

Even Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz's competition boss, admits that Ferrari is currently fielding the quickest car, as proved by perhaps the first true "yardstick" of performance for this year, the Circuit de Catalunya.

The German said McLaren's MP4-23 was simply not fast enough to win the Spanish grand prix there.

"Our aim is to improve further over the next few races, however it is possible the Turkish grand prix might be a challenging race for the team," he conceded.