the grid for the next race in Malaysia. BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen claimed that Kubica would have won the race ahead of Jenson Button had it not been for Vettel. At the , Kubica qualified in eighth place, but was promoted to sixth following Vettel's ten-place grid penalty for causing the crash in Australia, and Rubens Barrichello's five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox. However, he retired very early in the race with engine problems. The next two races, the and the were disappointing for the BMW Sauber team as both Kubica and his teammate Heidfeld finished outside the points with a non-competitive car. For the next race in Barcelona, BMW Sauber prepared a modified version of the F1.09. The car proved more competitive but a mistake in fitting the tyres to Kubica's car during Q3 meant he could only qualify in 10th position. In the race, after a bad start (due to a clutch issue) he finished once more out of the points. Kubica had an engine failure during second practice in Monaco, and retired from the Grand Prix due to a brake issue. At the , the team introduced the double diffuser. The car's performance improved and Kubica managed to score his first points of the season with a 7th place. In the next 3 races both BMW Sauber drivers finished outside the points again, but during the European and Belgian Grands Prix again proved to be competitive, scoring 8th and 4th positions respectively. In Italy, Kubica had engine trouble in qualifying and then retired from the race due to an oil leak. At the , Kubica finished 8th, defending his position from Kazuki Nakajima and Räikkönen in the last laps. He later stated it was "the most difficult point I have ever scored". At the , Kubica scored his first podium of the season despite engine temperature problems by finishing in 2nd place, 7.6 seconds behind winner Mark Webber. The podium was BMW's second of the season. On 29 July 2009, BMW announced that they would leave Formula One at the end of 2009, which made Kubica a free agent for the season. For the 2010 season, it was announced that he had signed for Renault F1, the team he tested for during his junior career. Renault 2010 season: moving to Renault Kubica moved to the Renault team for . His position was briefly put in