Sauber aiming for further points finish at India

Perez and Kobayashi confident of more points at the Indian GP

Sauber aiming for further points finish at India
Author:
21 October 2012 - 17:28

Both Sauber drivers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez are aiming for further points finishes at next weekend’s Indian Grand Prix, as the Swiss outfit continue to hunt down Mercedes for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. With only 20 points separating the two teams, the final four races will be extremely important.

At the Korean Grand Prix last time out, both Mercedes and Sauber failed to score a single World Championship point, with only one driver from each team eventually finishing the 55-lap race. Throughout the opening stages of the race, both Nico Rosberg and Kamui Kobayashi retired, with the latter colliding with the Mercedes of Rosberg and damaging his radiator.

Kamui Kobayashi is hopeful that the Buddh International Circuit will be less dusty than last season’s inaugural running of the event, a race which the Japanese star retired from on the opening lap. With Kobayashi striving to retain his seat with Sauber, he’ll unarguably be hoping for a much more competitive race weekend which will include a further points haulage to help reel in Mercedes.

“I am keen to see what the circuit will be like when we arrive there for the second time.” Explained Kamui Kobayashi, “Last year everything was new and the surface was very dusty. The track lay out as such should probably mean our performance will be average, which means we should be able to score points there.”

Sergio Perez has unquestionably been the more competitive driver for Sauber this season, with three podiums already to his name. His superlative display of driving has hardly gone unnoticed, as he will move to McLaren next season to replace Lewis Hamilton. With only four races left as a Sauber driver, Sergio Perez is still focused on scoring as many points for the Hinwil-based outfit and catching Mercedes.

“I cannot believe we have only four races left, so the season will now end quite soon.”
Said Sergio Perez, who nearly won the Malaysian Grand Prix earlier in he year. “To make up 20 points to finish fifth in the Constructors’ World Championship means we have quite a job to do. The race in India should be a bit better for us than in Korea, and our car will be quicker there.”

Mercedes have failed to score a single World Championship point since the Singapore Grand Prix last month, when Nico Rosberg managed to finish 5th. Since then, Sauber have finished on the podium, and have remained incredibly confident on catching the German marque in the remaining races. With Red Bull looking dominant out in front, the battle is far from over for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

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