Kubica wins Canadian GP

Robert Kubica's breakthrough victory at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday is consoling Poles after their football team lost 0-2 to Germany in their opening Euro 2008 match in Austria.

"Kubica's vanquished Germany," read a bright red front-page headline on the Super Express tabloid daily, adding "A Pole's gigantic success! Robert won in Montreal and proved he's the world's best race driver."

The Polska daily's front page echoes the sentiment with "Kubica's great triumph - the first victory of a Pole in Formula 1 to dry the tears after the defeat of our footballers against Germany."

Photos of the victorious Kubica instead of Poland's defeated squad cover the front pages of several newspapers.

"He'll be the world champion! It's certain. Will it happen this season?" Polska asks.

"His battle with Ferrari and McLaren will sweeten everything for us. Even the Poles' defeat," Polska says.

While football has long been Poland's national sport, Formula 1 racing has gained popularity principally due to Kubica's stellar success.

The top-selling liberal Gazeta Wyborcza recalls how Kubica's victory came on a race track where he emerged unscathed from a spectacular crash last year.

"Only great sportsmen are capable of making this kind of a comeback," Gazeta Wyborcza wrote.

"Robert feels comfortable in the world (of Formula 1) - like a serious contender not a playboy," Robert's father Artur told the Dziennik daily.

"Never has a Pole stepped so high on the podium of Formula 1," Dziennik said.