Sauber have admitted that qualifying ended disappointingly for the team, and that they suffered various setbacks throughout the session. Although Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi set the quickest time throughout qualifying during Q1 with a 01:26.182, the Swiss team still suffered with gearbox problems and a lack of grip on track.
After a successful Q1 session which saw Kobayashi finish fastest, Q2 couldn’t have been more different as Sergio Perez was unable to set a time due to gearbox issues and Kamui Kobayashi suffered from both a lack of grip and traffic.
“We made some set-up changes to the car today and in Q1 I was busy adapting my driving style a bit.” Explained the Mexican, “In Q2 I knew exactly what to do but then I could not shift anymore because of a gearbox problem. It is a true shame as there was a lot more to come from the car and from myself. Starting from 17th will make it very difficult to get a good result on Sunday. I will do my best.”
Perez’s team-mate, Kamui Kobayashi, will start tomorrow’s race further up the grid, but suffered a disappointing session nonetheless.
“This is obviously disappointing.” Said Kamui Kobayashi, “In Q1 I was really happy with the car and the grip and, of course, it felt great to have set the fastest lap. But then on my second run in Q2 with another new set of soft tyres I just could not find grip. I have no explanation for that, it felt totally different. I also had traffic in the last sector, but the main surprise was the lack of grip. Thirteenth is not really a nice position to start from and it doesn’t reflect the potential of the car. However, we will try to achieve the best possible result tomorrow.”
With a slightly topsy-turvy grid for tomorrow’s race, which includes Ferrari qualifying 12th and 16th, Sauber will need their competitors to make a few mistakes if they wish to score points.
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