Sauber: Point for Perez, disaster for Kobayashi

2011 Indian GP team review

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Sergio Perez claimed a point despite a penalty, while Kamui Kobayashi collided with Timo Glock.

Kamui KobayashiSergio Perez
Qualifying position1720
Qualifying time comparison (Q1)1’27.876 (+0.627)1’27.249
Race position10
Laps0/6059/60
Pit stops02

Sauber drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960
Kamui Kobayashi
Sergio Perez109.631115.40994.3993.76193.73893.95893.95593.17694.00893.45694.01492.93793.2993.39494.0693.20892.63292.21892.77492.12291.62992.15691.50291.86891.96992.04492.05491.18791.57591.13891.09391.29591.12994.073112.03293.54890.5890.67790.57290.85891.18890.36690.52890.40789.94290.67889.86790.2489.90589.89889.59491.39691.3189.94589.63989.90589.35589.34590.132

Kamui Kobayashi

Start tyreSoft

Kobayashi failed to progress beyond Q1 for the third time this year. He couldn’t get his tyres up to temperature and claimed he was delayed by Felipe Massa.

He had to run wide at the first corner to avoid Rubens Barrichello. As he returned to the track he turned in front of Timo Glock and the pair collided.

Kobayashi continued but stopped a few corners later: “I saw smoke and fire coming from my car. Obviously there was severe damage, so I had to stop and switch the car off.”

Kamui Kobayashi 2011 form guide

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez, Sauber, Buddh International Circuit
Start tyreHard
Pit stop 1Soft 22.676s
Pit stop 2Soft 24.789s

Perez described his qualifying session as “very bad” after falling three-tenths short of his Q1 time in Q2.

He had the same penalty as Lewis Hamilton for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags in the first practice session.

Perez gambled on starting the race on hard tyres and came into the pits at the end of lap one to change to softs. He spent much of the first stint behind Paul di Resta before passing the Force India driver.

He resisted race-long pressure from Vitaly Petrov to claim the final points place: “At least this way I can pay back something to the team after I made that mistake on Friday.”

Sergio Perez 2011 form guide

2011 Indian Grand Prix

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    Image © Sauber F1 Team

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    19 comments on “Sauber: Point for Perez, disaster for Kobayashi”

    1. How a headline can really say it all …

      I think Perez did a really good job to make it work after an own goal on friday collecting the penalty. Not sure what happened to Kobayashi, might it be he feels the heat from a very solid teammate as well?

    2. I wonder where is the “excellent” driver, who should get a drive for McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari? Sauber fell down, but still Pérez managed to score 12 points in the second half of the year, while Kobayashi only 2… Shame, that Sauber has already confirmed their drivers for 2012… :(

      1. ferrari you mean

        1. Remember, he will be Ferrari driver ….. sooner or later …. are hearing rumors that are left in Mexico, right in the automotive sector ..

    3. Crashes are part of racing..If Sauber were doubting the abilities of Koba who has impressed many of us since the last 2 races of 2009 once in a while, they would not confirm their line up..

      Add to the fact Sauber really need some sponsor money, i am not so sure about how much Koba can bring to the team..Certainly, he is no Sakon Yamamoto clone..Sad to see Kazuki Nakajima not having a race seat..He seems to be lost from the F1 radar..

      Never before have we seen a more promising Asian driver..Koba just needs the right car..

      1. I agree that it would be good to see Kobayashi in the right car, but I still think Sauber is the best place for him.

        It’s great that they are holding on to these two for 2012. I know Perez’s destiny may lie with the Dark Side of the Grid (and I wish that wasn’t the case) but I think Sauber have a great chance to build themselves into a better team with continuity in their driver line-up.

        It is a bit concerning how they’ve fallen back slightly since earlier in the season. I’m sure they would’ve seen themselves fighting Force India instead of trying to hold off Toro Rosso at this stage of the season.

        1. @magnificent-geoffrey Sauber do right to hang on to both drivers. They both clearly have the talent but the machinery is lacking. It’s a bit gutting that Kobayashi has been so quiet in the second half of the season.

    4. I’m very pleased that Perez was able to get a point after his penalty. The way he held off Petrov at the end of the race was very impressive, considering he would’ve been under a lot of pressure. Rookie of the year for me by far.

      Another disappointing weekend for my man Kobayashi though. But I think he was unlucky in the race and when you get caught up in Turn 1 drama, there’s not a huge amount that you can do about it.

      I suppose he should’ve made it through Q1, but once again Sauber were so keen to try and save tyres that they decided to limit them both to just the one run at the end of the session. I’m not sure if I agree that’s the best strategy, if I’m honest. If anything goes wrong or there’s something wrong with the car or the car lacks grip compared to P3, like it appears was the case here, you’re just backing yourself into a hole and increasing your chances of getting caught up in drama at the first corner.

      I wish Sauber would be a bit more agressive sometimes. The conservative approach worked in Melbourne for sure, but I wish they would keep trying to force it everywhere else.

      1. You’re right on all accounts @magnificent-geoffrey: Perez had an excellent race and I was delighted when Senna pitted in the end so he could get that point!

      2. @magnificent-geoffrey Agreed, Perez is doing a phenomenal job. As for the first corner crash, it did look like Kobayashi was at fault – he just drove back on the track on Glock’s path.

        1. @Enigma You’re probably right. But there was all sorts going on that he was trying to avoid and if you look at the footage, he didn’t exactly jump back onto the track suddenly or anything. So I’m not going to be too hard on Koba about it.

          1. @magnificent-geoffrey Exactly, it’s easy to get it wrong in such a mess.

    5. Sauber is indeed a good place to start a career in Formula 1..Kimi Raikkonen started there and ended up being a champion..Felipe Massa almost become one too..

      Nick Heidfeld & Giancarlo Fisichella might not be the best driver nurtured by Sauber..But if we consider how much Sauber was willing to take risks with his line up and how much he believes in the abilities of his drivers, Peter Sauber knows what he is doing..

      Good to point out it was Sauber the Swiss which funded for the debut of Micheal Schumacher with Jordan..We know how that ended up..

      1. Didn’t Fisichella start with Jordan, in the same year that Ralf Schumacher started his F1 career there?

        Maybe I’ts too long ago and I misremember things, but I have distinct memories of them being fast and crashing into each other at several occasions, two yellow cars standing there smoking and EJ explaining that’s the risk you take with two fast young rookies …

    6. wow, I think most of the comment here supporting perez must be made by mexicans.
      He is a very normal driver, Kobayashi has almost as twice points as perez. perez in a good car is ahead of barrichello, maldonado,senna,de la rosa, heidfield, trulli, luizzi ,etc, drivesr that have really bad cars or drivers that are not competing any longer.

      1. Yes, Kobayashi has out-scored Perez over the whole season. But look the way the wind is blowing. Perez is the only driver to score points for Sauber over the last seven races.

        Your eagerness to ascribe other people’s opinions to their nationality is patronising and doesn’t lend any credibility to your own point of view.

        1. You just got owned big time @tete LOL.

          As a Mexican, I have just followed Sauber closely this season, so I cannot comment whether this lack of progress over the season is a trend or a fluke. What I do can say, is that I believe most of the teams are doing their homework better while Sauber seems stagnated.

          I think both Perez and Koby are great drivers, however Perez has been able to make the most out of a weaker car as shown through his performance on the last races. Perhaps Koby’s driving style requires more top-speed as opposed to other characteristics. What you guys think? Best Regards

          1. Last year Sauber got better later in the season while FI dropped back a bit, so it’s not a Sauber ailment, just a bad spell in this year, it seems.

    7. The team don’t have any pace but it’s there clever strategy that is helping them to collect all the pieces.

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