Robert Kubica was relieved to bag his first podium for six races after a plastic carrier almost wrecked his European Grand Prix.

After failing in his bid to pass Lewis Hamilton at the start of the inaugural Valencia event from third on the grid, Kubica then feared he would have to retire soon after when he suffered instability.

It became apparent a plastic bag had lodged under the front wing of his BMW Sauber, which thankfully for the Pole disintegrated over the next few minutes.

The remainder of the race proved trouble free for Kubica, who was happy to settle for third behind winner Felipe Massa and runner-up Hamilton.

Explaining the bag situation, Kubica said: "I started pretty well, but in corner one I went over the kerb and Lewis was closing.

"In the second corner I was going to overtake Lewis, but I saw Felipe braking quite early.

"It would have been too much of a risk as I could have ended up overshooting the braking point and crashing into him.

"Over the next few laps I was consistently a bit slower than Lewis, and then suddenly I saw a white plastic bag flying across the track.

"I could not avoid it and it went under the car. I couldn't steer for two corners, which was extremely dangerous.

"Fortunately most of the bag soon flew away, but my confidence was very low over the next sector, and I lost around three seconds."

Kubica ultimately finished 37 seconds adrift of Massa, underlying the performance differential between his car and the Ferrari and McLaren, even if Heikki Kovalainen was behind him in fourth.

"Eventually I think my good qualifying result yesterday was crucial for today's result," added Kubica.

"If I had started behind Kimi and Heikki then most probably I would have finished behind them, but I managed a good lap and here I am.

"I'm trying my best, giving my maximum, but we have to be realistic and say the true pace of our car is more like today rather than in qualifying."