Sunday: Kobayashi earns two points in his final race with Sauber
The Sauber team finishes the season in the points thanks to Kamui Kobayashi's 9th place. His teammate, Sergio Pérez, was not as lucky, as the Mexican driver had to retire on the first lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix. A different end of collaboration with Sauber for the two drivers overall.
Kamui Kobayashi – 9th:
I got off to a good start and stayed out of trouble. The start of the race was good. Then the track conditions became tricky with the drizzle and I had contact with Mark Webber’s car. That’s why we had to change my nose when I came in to switch to intermediates after eight laps. At my second stop after 18 laps, I fitted the hard tires. For some reason, it was quite a long stop, but nevertheless, I was back in 6th afterwards. I think we made my last stop one lap too late. The conditions were good for intermediates. However, the weather forecast said something different, and then we had a problem with the front left. In the end, I was much faster than Michael [Schumacher] and tried to overtake him, but on the inside, it was much wetter than on the racing line and I lost the rear.
Overall, I think it was really a great race. I was able to run my own race and fight. I’m happy for the team and for myself that we were able to score points for our last race together. I want to thank Sauber for the good times we had together, and now I will try to find a Formula 1 seat for next year.
Sergio Pérez – Retirement:
I really wanted to finish the season differently. It has been a great season with three podiums and I want to thank everyone at Sauber. I wish the team all the best and I am now going to take on a new challenge. I didn’t really understand what happened after the start today. I went inside to avoid contact with other cars, and then people hit me.
