Sunday: Perez Steals the Show from Kobayashi in Japan
The entire audience was waiting to see their favorite, Kamui Kobayashi, achieve wonders in the race like last season, but things did not go very well for the Japanese driver. It was ultimately his teammate, Sergio Perez, who shone in Japan. The Mexican driver, who started from 17th place and has been suffering from the flu since yesterday, accomplished an incredible performance by finishing the race in 8th place, which allows the Swiss team to score valuable points in the battle for 6th place in the constructors' championship.
Sergio Perez – 8th
I’m really pleased that the team was able to score some new points here in Japan, especially after the problem we encountered during yesterday’s qualifying session which made me start from 17th position. But today the tire strategy worked very well for me, and the team did a great job. The performance of the car was good as well. I pushed hard and gave my maximum today. Physically it was very tough for me because I have the flu, so I’m really happy to have been able to bring the car home in a good position to score points.
Kamui Kobayashi – 13th
« It was a tricky race for me. At the start, I released the clutch and the anti-stall suddenly kicked in, and that’s why I immediately lost five places. I tried to fight with the other cars, but overtaking wasn’t as easy as last year. Then the safety car intervened at the wrong time for us in terms of strategy. I had made my second stop just before it came on track, we had switched from soft to medium tires, and I had to finish the race with – 29 laps left. At the end, the tires were just very degraded, and I couldn’t defend my position. In any case, I had a good qualifying session, and the car’s performance has clearly improved, so we will continue to push in the last races of the season. I am very proud for all the Japanese fans who were excited to see Formula One. It is an exceptional audience, and it was a very emotional day for me. »
Peter Sauber – Director of the Sauber team
«Everyone on the team was hoping that Kamui could have achieved a good result for his home Grand Prix. He really would have deserved it after his strong performance in yesterday’s qualifying session, but things went wrong at the start. He lost many places, and his aggressive strategy didn’t work. Sergio had an excellent race. Starting 17th and finishing 8th says it all about his race. He was both aggressive and consistent. His result shows that we have taken a step forward with our car, which is important for the upcoming races. Congratulations to Sebastian for his world champion title, which is well-deserved after a phenomenal season.»
