Sauber frustrated after uncompetitive Indian Grand Prix

Both Sauber drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez endured yet another frustrating race at the Indian Grand Prix, which saw Sergio Perez retire after 20 laps and Kamui Kobayashi struggle within the midfield for the majority of the race. However, the team are confident of an improvement next weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

After suffering greatly from blistering on the tyres throughout the early stages of the race, Sergio Perez was forced to become the first driver to make a scheduled pit stop only several laps into the race. This put the Mexican driver at a disadvantage early on, and saw him plummet through the order. As Perez tried to overtake the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo, he picked up a right rear puncture which subsequently damaged the car and saw him retire from the race.

“Today was a total disappointment.” Admitted Sergio Perez, who has not scored a World Championship point since the Singapore Grand Prix. “First of all I had to pit after 14 laps because the front left tyre was blistering badly. We don’t know yet why this happened. I wanted to recover the lost positions but touched Daniel Ricciardo’s front wing when I overtook him. The rear right tyre came off the rim and damaged something at the rear of the car. So my race was over after 20 laps.”

With one Sauber driver entering retirement in the opening stages of the race, all hope of a points scoring finish for the Hinwil-based outfit lied solely on the shoulders of Kamui Kobayashi. Since finishing on the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix, Kobayashi has fallen off the radar somewhat with several uninspiring drivers for the Japanese driver. This week saw Kobayashi once again struggled within the midfield, on his way to 14th position.

“I have to say it wasn’t our weekend here.” Explained a downcast Kamui Kobayashi, whose position with Sauber next season is still under speculation. “In the race I was never alone, I always had someone in front of me but not enough straight line pace to overtake. This was frustrating. I was stuck behind Daniel Ricciardo and there was nothing I could do. The issue with Pastor Maldonado was a bit strange. He had overtaken me but then he suddenly came on my racing line again. I could not avoid having contact.”

Despite Pastor Maldonado’s race being ruined after the collision with the Sauber driver, Kamui Kobayashi was able to avoid a penalty and 14th was the best he could achieve. Both Perez and Kobayashi will be looking for a better result next weekend at Abu Dhabi, as they remain 20 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship.

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