Kamui Kobayashi pleased with race effort despite KERS issue

Kamui Kobayashi has voiced satisfaction after a relatively competitive performance during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, especially after the Japanese driver struggled with a KERS issue largely due to a problem with his downshifting. Kobayashi eventually finished 6th, bringing home eight valuable points for Sauber.

With Sauber still aiming to catch and pass Mercedes for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, Kamui Kobayashi’s 6th place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will have been warmly welcomed, especially as Mercedes once again failed to score a single World Championship point. This result has reduced the gap between Sauber and Mercedes to only 12 points, with two races still remaining in the Championship.

However, Kamui Kobayashi did not have the ability use the full pace of the car during the 55-lap race, as his car was plagued with a downshift issue which in turn effected the KERS harvesting system on his Ferrari-powered Sauber C31. Regardless of this minor setback, the Japanese star still finished competitively within the points, as he strives to retain his seat at Sauber.

“It was a very tough race and I am really happy I was able to get those eight points for the team.” Explained Kamui Kobayashi, “To fight for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship in the remaining two races will be very exciting. Unfortunately today I could not use the full performance of the car. There was a problem with downshifting, which meant I could not recharge the KERS properly and didn’t have full boost. Otherwise my race went well.”

Whereas Kamui Kobayashi finished an impressive 6th, team-mate Sergio Perez endured yet another frustrating Grand Prix. The Mexican driver was involved in a multi-car incident with Paul di Resta, Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber on lap 37, which resulted in Perez being issued a ten second stop-and-go penalty for causing the melee. Eventually, the future McLaren driver was able to finish 15th.

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