Kobayashi wants to progress in 2012
Even though he only has two F1 seasons behind him, Kamui Kobayashi is the leader of the Sauber F1 team. The Japanese driver knows, however, that he still has a lot to learn and he intends to progress in 2012 if the C31 meets the expectations glimpsed during the Jerez tests.
After starting in F1 at the end of 2009 with Toyota, Kamui Kobayashi experienced his first season as a main driver in 2010. The 2011 season even allowed him to make his debut as the number 1 driver at Sauber because he was teamed with Sergio Perez, who was starting in F1.
The Japanese driver has shown great qualities behind the wheel of an F1 car since his debut. But he hopes to continue learning to be even better in 2012. He hopes to achieve good results with the C31, which he considers to be good at the moment after two days of testing in Jerez.
« It was very exciting to drive our new single-seater on the track for the first time. The car seems good. It is very stable. And with a new car, you have to rack up the kilometers because there’s nothing more important than testing its reliability and true potential, » said Kamui Kobayashi in an interview with the official Formula 1 website.
Thanks to these two years spent with Sauber, Kobayashi now knows exactly what the engineers expect from him to be able to analyze the collected data and improve the car.
«Now, I have a very good idea of what the team expects from me. I can be much more precise. So I would say that last year was my big debut as a leader, and this year, with the experience of 2010, it will be much easier.»
I will probably approach things differently this year. My hope is that we can remain competitive throughout the season because at the moment we are quite fast. I hope we can stay consistent.
The Japanese driver’s goal for 2012 is to do even better than his 12th place in the drivers’ standings: «(I want) to perform better in the drivers’ standings. I know it’s not easy, but I want to compete at a different level, so I hope the car will be consistent.»
He also hopes to help Sauber secure a good position in the Constructors’ Championship with the help of Sergio Perez. He even mentioned that he gets along very well with the Mexican.
He is young and I am not too old either, so we speak the same language. And I know he is quick as well, so yes, we should be comfortable together.
Kamui Kobayashi also commented on the departure of James Key, who was the technical director of the team and decided to leave for a new challenge. Kobayashi did not express concern about this departure and made a point of praising the work Key had done.
When he joined the team, we were in a difficult situation. He helped me a lot – just like the team, of course, which allowed us to have a good second half of the 2010 season and a good start to the 2011 year.
When I heard he was going to leave, I was a little surprised. Of course, we knew well before it was made public, but you have to accept the fact that he probably had different goals and wanted to achieve them. I must say he worked tremendously well for our team – and without sounding outdated – I was proud to work with him, added Kobayashi.
