BUDAPEST, Hungary — Robert Kubica isn’t going to let talk of the future get in the way of his chase for a Formula One championship.

The Polish driver’s standing has risen quickly following a debut victory in Montreal to go with season-long consistency for BMW-Sauber. So much so that the F1 paddock is reverberating with reports that Kubica is being lined up to drive for Ferrari in 2009.

Kubica, who trails overall leader Lewis Hamilton by 13 points with seven races to go, hasn’t had the easiest time since that Canadian GP victory in June put him atop the standings. An eighth-place finish at Budapest — Kubica’s worst of the season — shows the German car manufacturer could be losing its grip on the championship race and, maybe, its prized driver.

“There are many F1 drivers who are waiting for a win and there are F1 drivers like Lewis that they came with very good package doing very good job and they manage to win straightaway. So I’m pretty happy with what I have achieved but, of course, you always want more,” Kubica told The Associated Press trackside at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month.

Some drivers might start thinking championship after a maiden victory, but Kubica is keeping his feet firmly planted knowing that a poor result at this weekend’s European Grand Prix on the inaugural street circuit in Valencia, Spain, could dampen such hopes.

“To be honest, I will be not disappointed if I do not become world champion because I think all drivers would like to be world champion, but only one is winning and it is not only depending on myself,” the 23-year-old Krakow native said. “For me, the most important thing is to be happy of what I’m doing because I can be quite negative to myself of what I’m doing, how I’m driving.”

Kubica left his native Poland as a teenager to pursue a karting career in Italy. Karts remain his passion, even though the inevitable move to single seaters brought him the 2005 Renault World Series championship and a test drive with the French team, which paved the way for his leap to F1.

At the track, poker helps Kubica take his mind off things, with friendly games on the Friday or Saturday nights before a race against up to nine other drivers, including Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella. Kubica’s aggressive driving style even rubs off outside the track on the poker table.

“I want to see the face of the players,” he said. “I think it’s good, it’s also what you do on the weekend to relax at the track and stop thinking. ...”