Sunday: Kobayashi Keeps His Promises at Sauber
Author of a thunderous start to the race that saw him climb from 24th to 8th place before his pit stop, Kamui Kobayashi had to settle for the point for 10th place after suffering a puncture during the race. His teammate experienced a much more complicated race after a collision at the start and tires he admitted struggling to use.
Kamui Kobayashi – 10th
It was very nice today, I really enjoyed this race. I found it easier to overtake here than in Hungary last year. Before the race, I promised Peter [Sauber] to score points. It’s only one point, because we lost time due to a puncture after contact with Buemi when I overtook him. Otherwise, I think I could have finished seventh and scored more points. The car was excellent, and the team came up with a good strategy for me, so I want to thank them for that. Towards the end, I had to be a bit more cautious and preserve the tires because the last stint was quite long with 20 laps, but it worked well.
Sergio Perez – 14th
« We had a good pace today and I clearly had my chances to score my first points. It’s really unfortunate what happened on the first lap. Pastor Maldonado braked quite hard in front of me and I couldn’t avoid him. I lost my front wing and had to pit. Besides that, I found the tires quite difficult to use – both compounds, to be honest – but the car was very good. I will continue to work with the team to improve my performance in qualifying. »
James Key, Technical Director
What a race full of twists and turns! Our two drivers drove very well. The car was definitely better than in qualifying, and the drivers made the most of it. It’s really unfortunate that we couldn’t bring both cars into the points and finish a bit higher, because it was possible. Unfortunately, Sergio’s wing was damaged on the first lap and we had to change his strategy. Kamui had a puncture towards the end of his second stint, which sent him to the back of the pack. So, it’s really a shame, but we can’t complain because we managed to score a point even though our drivers started the race in a bad position. […] Now, we should have updates on the car in Barcelona, and we hope that will help us continue to score points on a regular basis.
