Sauber: Kobayashi out in Q1 but claims points

38 comments on “Sauber: Kobayashi out in Q1 but claims points”

1. 

   slr
   25th July 2011, 12:38

   Great drive by Kobayashi, really having a great season. I’m sure Perez will bounce back in the coming races.
   1. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      27th July 2011, 23:13

      To be honest I thought he had been a little quiet after the first couple of races of the season. Maybe my expectations were a little high.

      Anyways, a good result for Kobayashi.
2. 

   Eggry (@eggry)
   25th July 2011, 13:00

   Great race from Kobayashi as Sutil! Considering his poor qualifying result it’s more impressive.
   1. 

      Fixy (@)
      25th July 2011, 17:12

      Di Resta and Buemi did little from the back of the field, but as usual Kamui made excellent progress!
3. 

   TommyB (@tommyb89)
   25th July 2011, 13:05

   I really really really hope Kobayashi’s talents get recognised by a top team.

   He has the potential to be the first truly great Japanese driver but I just don’t see there ever being room for him at a team like McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari. Shame.
   1. 

      Eggry (@eggry)
      25th July 2011, 13:09

      I think same thing. His talent is enough to get into top team but top teams already have their clear road map of driver. For sure he’s the best driver from Japan but unfortunately today is one of the most competitive line up in all time…
   2. 

      Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
      26th July 2011, 0:09

      He’s already the best japanese ever in every way.

      He only needs a podium to make it official.
      1. 

         Mike
         26th July 2011, 1:38

         People forget Katyama. Until after he became ill, Katyama was truly phenomenal.

         Course…. I really like Kamui too! :D

         If a race goes crazy, Kamui will either be the guy who did it, or the guy who capitalizes. I love that.
         1. 

            Eggry (@eggry)
            26th July 2011, 3:27

            Oh yeah! Katayama was amazing! It’s shame he became ill…
   3. 

      Journeyer (@journeyer)
      27th July 2011, 12:58

      I think McLaren is Kamui’s best shot. While Paffett is officially 3rd driver, I don’t think they’ll just drop him into a McLaren at the drop of a hat. Ferrari is a possibility too, but I think they’re more likely to pick up Perez instead.
4. 

   Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
   25th July 2011, 13:10

   Was eliminated in Q1 for the second time this year as Sauber tried to make a single run in the first part of qualifying.
   I’m not convinced. Kobayashi attempted a second run before the end of Q1, but aborted it. I suspect Sauber were looking at the lap times, figured they’d only be in the bottom part of Q2 anyway, and called Kobayashi in to save an extra set of softs for the race, which Kobayashi then used to climb into the points.
5. 

   Joe
   25th July 2011, 13:13

   let him ride the top three teams, you’ll often see him in the podium
6. 

   AugustoMartins (@augustomartins)
   25th July 2011, 13:32

   Sauber is the main reason to me for watching F1! I am loving the way Kobayashi and Perez are driving and how the team is managing the car’s development! As we say here in Brazil, they are getting milk from a stone! Great drive and great team!

   See ya!

   Augusto
7. 

   Jim
   25th July 2011, 13:42

   Kobayashi makes race fun.I love to see him driving.
8. 

   Marco
   25th July 2011, 13:49

   It seems to be an advantage to finish 18th in qualifying and then have a fresh set of tyres for race… Alguersuari used this strategy three times in a row and scored points… Kobayashi did the same yesterday… :)
   1. 

      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      25th July 2011, 14:27

      It’s even better when you end up one place higher from someone else’s penalty!
      1. 

         Marco
         25th July 2011, 16:36

         ?
         1. 

            Harry Palmer
            25th July 2011, 22:28

            Buemi started last because of a penalty, moving Kobayashi up a place…

            http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/07/25/2011-german-grand-prix-toro-rosso/
9. 

   AdrianMorse
   25th July 2011, 13:54

   What I find interesting from the lap chart is that Perez drove a very strong second stint, and looked to have his measure were it not for his spin.

   With regards to Kobayashi, for all his excellent results in F1, I still have some doubts whether he is really that fast or whether good tyre management (of both driver and car) combined with good race craft are sufficient in this day and age to get the results.
   1. 

      Ral
      25th July 2011, 15:14

      The laptimes don’t tell you exactly what was happening though. Kobayashi in his second stint was doing a lot of defensive driving trying to keep in particular Petrov behind him. So that would have cost him some time.
   2. 

      Babis1980
      25th July 2011, 15:39

      Ok. If you say that Kamui is slower than Maldonado I would say maybe. If you say that is faster than Heifeld or Vitaly I would say possibly. If you say that he is better overtaker than Rubens I would say definitely. But Sauber is not a better car than Renault nor Williams in my opinion. Anyway, lets check his team mates.

      Trulli is very fast. Kamui was 1.3 sec slower in Brazil and 0.5 sec in Abu Dahbi. So I would say that this is not bad for first and second grand prix.

      Last year he was always faster that his team mates and this season he is most of the times.

      Give him a drive in a team of the top five and lets find out if he is made of champion material. In my opinion he is a great driver who has not a major sponsor so it is really difficult for him.
      1. 

         Marco
         25th July 2011, 16:39

         Last year his quali duel with De La Rosa finished only 7:7 and pretty equal is it also currently with the rookie Perez…(4:5) So the raw pace might be a problem…
10. 

    BasCB (@bascb)
    25th July 2011, 14:30

    It really looks as if that 18 qualifying spot pays off, its now how many times a driver got points from doing that? 6, 7 times?
    1. 

       bosyber
       26th July 2011, 19:59

       Another statistic to check for?
11. 

    paul
    25th July 2011, 15:32

    I would love to see Kobayashi in a race winning car. he would be great to watch.
12. 

    tyngdekraft (@tyngdekraft)
    25th July 2011, 16:48

    I don’t think Kobayashi is really faster than Perez. Perez is very good with its tyres and his race pace is always strong. But he still makes rookie mistakes like yesterday, costing him a lot of points.

    What I like the most about Kamui is that he is entertaining to watch and imo the best overtaker in F1. But I wouldn’t rate him as a top driver in terms of speed. Hopefully he will get a better seat in the future and we’ll see
13. 

    smokinjoe (@smokinjoe)
    25th July 2011, 22:10

    i hope he better then massa and webber ..he just need a good team
14. 

    wasiF1 (@wasif1)
    26th July 2011, 2:17

    Nothing new from Kobayashi but was very surprise to see Perez not finishing in the points.
15. 

    Faraz
    26th July 2011, 11:21

    People are always batting on about Di Resta and co, but look at Kamui, he nearly got on the podium at Monaco and Montreal, he has come from 18th and scored points on a couple of occasions and is sitting 11th in current standing, just behind the RBs,Ferrari’s,Mclarens, Mercedes and Renault.
    That’s got to say something.
    1. 

       AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
       27th July 2011, 23:17

       To be fair you can’t compare Kobayashi and Di Resta too much. Kobayashi had just over a season of experience coming in to 2011. Remember how dodgy he was at the end of 2010? Button was very vocal about him at one point I remember.
       1. 

          taktak (@)
          28th July 2011, 4:40

          how dodgy he was?
          i remember he scored some points in his debut at the end of 2010.
          1. 

             AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
             28th July 2011, 13:28

             I think Button was worried he was a little eratic on track.
             1. 

                tak
                28th July 2011, 14:32

                i think lewis is far more erratic than him
16. 

    daykind
    26th July 2011, 19:26

    These two look seriously good. Ferrari, RBR, McLaren, Mercedes, take note.
17. 

    ManjuBoy
    27th July 2011, 0:03

    These guys are exciting and promising. Sauber has my favorite driver line up.
18. 

    Journeyer (@journeyer)
    27th July 2011, 13:07

    If there’s one thing Sauber excels at, it’s driver development. Some young drivers that have come from their ranks:

    Frentzen
    Heidfeld
    Raikkonen
    Massa
    Kubica (w/ BMW)
    Vettel (w/ BMW)
    Kobayashi
    Perez

    That is quite an impressive lineup. Not counting the current lineup, that’s 6 podium finishers, 5 of whom are race winners, 2 of whom are world champions (with another 2 being runners-up to the champion). That is quite an impressive achievement.
19. 

    electrolite (@electrolite)
    27th July 2011, 21:48

    It really doesn’t bother me that much if Kobayashi qualifies badly anymore. You just know he’ll be 4-5 places up within a couple of laps and probably finish in the points at the end.
    1. 

       gwenouille (@gwenouille)
       27th July 2011, 22:46

       Yes, but a regular place in Q3 would serve his career plans better…

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