Sunday Summary: Sauber – Pérez impresses in his debut

Definitely, Sauber has a knack for discovering great talents. After Räikkönen and Massa a few years ago and Kobayashi in 2010, now the Swiss team is launching Sergio Pérez into the deep end of F1.

The Mexican driver wasn’t completely satisfied with himself after the qualifying but can be proud of his race. Finishing in the points for his first GP is a great performance, especially ahead of Kamui Kobayashi.

Kobayashi completes Sauber’s success by finishing just behind his young teammate in eighth position. That’s what you call a good start to the season for Peter Sauber’s team.

Sergio Pérez – 7th – disqualified:

I will never forget this race, that’s for sure. After we put on the hard tires, I initially thought I had to push. But then I realized I could manage the tires, and we decided to go until the end.

I lost a bit of time behind Sebastian Vettel but I was then able to overtake him. I used the rear wing and he left space. I am very proud of my team, the strategy worked well and it was a good surprise that the tires lasted so long. I want to thank everyone, particularly in Mexico who helped me get to Formula 1.

NB: Since the publication of this statement, the FIA announced the disqualification of the Sauber F1 team.

Kamui Kobayashi – 8th – disqualified:

«I am very happy that we scored points with both cars. I had a good start and passed Alonso, who later passed me again. With the first set of tires, I was afraid of wearing them out. With the second set of softs, the pace was good, as well as with the third set of hards.»

I was a bit scared with Rubens Barrichello and Nico Rosberg who crashed in front of me, but nothing else happened after that. It’s a good start to the season and it makes me optimistic for the rest of the season.

Peter Sauber – Team principal:

It’s a dream start to the season because we weren’t expecting this. It’s also a well-deserved reward for both drivers. Kamui’s eighth place is a superb result.

I have no explanation for what Sergio did and how he managed to run 35 laps on a set of soft tires while setting good lap times.

NB: Since the publication of this statement, the FIA announced the disqualification of the Sauber F1 team.