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This afternoon’s European Grand Prix at the Valencia street circuit saw Sauber drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa finished seventh and tenth respectively, however, the post race penalties for failing to stay above the minimum time when the safety car was deployed after Mark Webber’s accident meant that de la Rosa was dropped to twelfth.
Therefore instead of scoring seven points for the team, it was only six, however it was still the team’s best result of the season so far.
For the race the team had put the drivers on different tyre strategies, which paid off and allowed Kamui, who started 17th, to overtake first Fernando Alonso and then Sébastien Buemi on the penultimate and final laps in brilliant style.
“Before the race we had decided to use separate tyre strategies for Pedro and me. I started on the harder ones and didn’t pit when everybody else did,” Kobayashi explained. “It was great racing there at the front, but it was not easy either because I had Jenson Button close behind me all the time, and also I had to look after my tyres. I was careful not to overdrive them.”
“After my pit stop I had only four laps to make use of my fresh tyres. At this moment I had better grip than anybody else, and I felt I had to make the most out of it. Of course it was a risk to overtake Alonso and Buemi. If it hadn’t worked out and I had crashed I would have been in trouble.”
“What a fantastic race, particularly considering where we were on the grid,” added Peter Sauber. “The team and the drivers did everything right today. Pedro delivered a very solid performance and Kamui was absolutely amazing. The lap times which he put in while he was in third were stunning. They prove how much potential there is in this car. Congratulations to the whole team and the drivers.” |
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