Sunday: Pérez gives Sauber a podium finish with the tifosi
After Malaysia and Canada, Sauber climbs onto the podium for the third time thanks once again to a brilliant Sergio Pérez. The Mexican, starting on Hard tires, finished the race attacking to seize second place. Kobayashi, in ninth, acknowledges that he did not have the pace to hope for better.
Sergio Pérez – 2nd:
« It was a very enjoyable race for me. It was one of those races where you are in the rhythm and are the one attacking. I am very happy for the team that worked very hard. It’s really a good team, and I am proud of it.
I didn’t have an easy first stint with the Hard tires, but it was definitely the right strategy. I was frequently in radio contact with the team because I was worried about the possibility of the tires suddenly collapsing, which would have forced us to change strategy. We also weren’t really sure how quickly they would heat up. However, everything worked well, and I was able to stay on track as long as I needed for the strategy.
I then did my second stint at maximum attack, and I must say that all the drivers I overtook were good sports. They didn’t give me more room than necessary, but it was always enough. That’s how it should be. I am very happy to have achieved my first European podium at Monza.
Kamui Kobayashi – 9th:
« First of all, congratulations to Sergio: well done, mate! It’s a great day for our team. I have nothing to complain about regarding my race, but for some reason, I just wasn’t in the rhythm.
Obviously, I had a different strategy since I had to start with the tires that I used in qualifying. On both compounds, I admit I lacked experience as we couldn’t do long stints on Friday. I just had a normal race, so there was nothing really special.
