When the new-season cars first began emerging, race fans were quick to point out that the new front wings appeared to be an accident waiting to happen, with some cheekily claiming that it was good that David Coulthard has decided to swap the F1 cockpit for the microphone.

While most are concentrating on KERS and the problems posed by slicks and reduced downforce, BMW driver Robert Kubica is the first to question the susceptibility of the new front wing to accident damage.

"With this huge front wing, wider than the tyres, we have to be really careful not only at the first corner but especially when you think you have overtaken a guy and you close the line," the Pole told reporters at Portimao.

"Now you can easily take off his wing and this wing is quite huge and it will go under the car," he warned. "We have to really watch out."

The Pole talks from bitter experience having crashed heavily at Montreal in 2007 when he made contact with Jarno Trulli's Toyota. Its front wing dislodged, the BMW took off at high speed hitting a concrete wall with sickening violence. Although he escaped virtually unhurt, Kubica missed the next race, thereby giving Sebastian Vettel his F1 debut.

Though he made a victorious return to the Canadian track last year, giving BMW its first F1 win, Kubica is concerned that the new design will cause more accident, as is his teammate Nick Heidfeld.

"If you've been in Formula One for a couple of years, you got used to the old wings and knew exactly where they were," said the German. "However, I can imagine that in situations where you have to act very quickly without a lot of thinking, when the cars are close together like at the start, we might see a few more touches."

Such is the vulnerability of the new front wing, some teams, such as Toyota (above) are taking extra measures to prevent them being damaged accidentally even when in the pitlane.