Kobayashi – “Not easy to be a leader”
Kamui Kobayashi took on the role of leader for the Sauber F1 team this season, which was only his second full season. The Japanese driver learned a great deal, even though this role wasn't always easy to manage.
The Sauber team decided to field two young drivers in 2011 – Kamui Kobayashi, 25, and Sergio Perez, 21. Kobayashi, given his age but especially his F1 experience, took on the role of leader in what was only his second season.
The Japanese driver did not find the task easy because he is aware that he still has significant progress to make, but he appreciated the opportunity offered by the Swiss team.
Clearly it was not easy for me (to take on the role of leader). I needed to improve a lot in many areas. Not just my driving, but also the way I make decisions with the engineers, Kamui Kobayashi confided.
Kobayashi also revealed that adapting to Pirelli tires has not been easy, but it is through adversity that he managed to learn, and he hopes this will benefit him next year.
The fact that we had to manage Pirelli’s new tires, which were very different from what we had before, was a real challenge for me. It was important to understand what was best for the race and how to handle the qualification. There was a significant difference between Saturday and Sunday.
“I think I’ve managed to understand a lot of things over the course of this season, and I have a much clearer picture for next year,” explained the Japanese.
Kamui Kobayashi also revealed in the interview published by the Sauber team that the difficulties encountered by the team during the second part of the season were due to the halt in the development of the blown diffuser.
We had promising winter tests and a very good start to the season. At first, we had every reason to be happy with our performances. Then, I would say that starting from the British Grand Prix, which was the ninth race out of the 19, we encountered difficulties due to the decisions made regarding the regulations and those made for our technical development.
« We did not pursue further in the direction of the ‘blown diffuser’. Instead, we worked very hard on the chosen development path, but we were unable to compensate for the disadvantage of not having the same technology as the other teams. »
Scoring points in the last two races of the season – 10th in Abu Dhabi and 9th in Brazil – is a good thing considering the technical direction chosen.
«I can still be happy to have scored points in the last two races. It has been a great achievement considering the circumstances, » added Kobayashi.
