Sauber drivers can't get tyres up to temperature
For both Sauber F1 Team drivers the final qualifying of the 2011 season was over after Q2. Kamui Kobayashi qualified 16th for the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez came 17th. For Sunday a high chance of rain is forecast – given their grid positions, Kobayashi as well as Pérez would welcome mixed conditions.
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber C30-Ferrari (Chassis 01 / Ferrari 056):
FP3: 14th/1:14.311 min (new soft tyres)
Q: 16th/ 1:14.129 min in Q2 (new soft tyres)
“Overall, the weekend here is a bit tricky for us. We worked on improving the car’s balance in every practice session and it got better, but it wasn’t a big enough step to find the proper grip to be able to attack. I was really fighting on every lap. It was tight to get into Q2 because already in Q1 it was difficult to warm up the tyres. However, tomorrow a lot will depend on the weather conditions and we will see what we can do.”
Sergio Pérez, Sauber C30-Ferrari (Chassis 03 / Ferrari 056):
FP3: 16th/1:14.547 min (new soft tyres)
Q: 17th/ 1:14.182 in Q2 (new soft tyres)
“It was a disappointing qualifying with the outcome that the Toro Rosso cars, our direct competitors, are in front of us. The main problem for me was that the car was so inconsistent: every lap was different, and I couldn’t get temperature into the tyres. However, we will not give up. If we get mixed weather conditions tomorrow, anything can happen.”
Peter Sauber, Team Principal:
“After qualifying, Toro Rosso is in front of our cars, but the race is tomorrow and we will fight hard in the race to turn this around.”
Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:
“This is obviously not the result we wanted, but it looks as if this was the limit today. In the end, both our drivers were at the same level. We had a trouble-free session, but the performance just didn’t allow us to finish higher up on the grid. For tomorrow there is a high chance of rain, and we will definitely be ready to make up ground in the race.”
