Another disappointing afternoon for Sauber
Sixteenth and eighteenth for Sauber F1 Team drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi respectively was the humbling outcome of qualifying for the European Grand Prix at the urban circuit of Valencia.
Pedro de la Rosa: C29.04 / Ferrari 056 Qualifying: 16th / 1.39.264 min (in Q2) 3rd Practice: 18th / 1:39.699 min (16 laps) “Sixteenth doesn’t look great, but I must say I am quite happy with what we did in qualifying. In Q1 especially our performance was really good. We improved the car after free practice and the changes paid off. We pushed hard and I think we got the best out of the package. There are limits. I think the track conditions favoured the harder tyre compound. The prime tyres were really good. With the softer option tyres I had a lack of grip and was sliding too much.”
Kamui Kobayashi: C29.02 / Ferrari 056 Qualifying: 18th / 1:39.343 min (in Q1) 3rd Practice: 17th / 1:39.527 min (16 laps) “I am very disappointed after having been out so early in qualifying. My first run on the prime tyres was okay, and when we changed to the option tyres I was expecting a lot more from them for the second run, but there was no extra grip. Anyway I didn’t exploit the potential because on my first flying lap with the softer tyres I locked the front wheels, which resulted in them being flat spotted. That’s why I felt vibrations in the car and this ruined my second flying lap. It is a shame.“
James Key, Technical Director: “It was a disappointing qualifying, but incredibly close. The grip level seemed to be quite inconsistent, and unfortunately it wasn’t possible for Kamui to get through to the second part of qualifying. He flat spotted the front tyres and was therefore not able to put the best sector times together, which seemed to be tricky today on the option tyres. Pedro did quite a good job in Q1 where he was 13th. He then began Q2 on the prime tyres and switched to the option tyres for the second run, but again a lack of grip and a balance difference between the two compounds seemed to be the problem. Unfortunately he couldn’t improve his lap time, and again the sectors tell a slightly different story. But that’s where we are this weekend, so we have to improve.”
