Kamui Kobayashi was left in high spirits following Saturday's qualifying session at Suzuka, with the Japanese driver making it through to Q3 on home soil. Having failed to set a time in the final grid deciding phase, the Sauber man is set to start from tenth.
"I am really happy we made it into the top ten qualifying in Suzuka," Kobayashi said. "I very much enjoy seeing all the fans here. In free practice we struggled quite a lot with the balance of the car, but the set up changes we made for qualifying worked out well.
"I think from the pace of the car you can see now that the new aero package is starting to work. My laps in Q1 and Q2 were good, and I can’t complain. We still have some good tyres left for the race tomorrow, and the race is what counts. I want to score points in front of this crowd."
Meanwhile team-mate Sergio Pérez, who is suffering from a cold this weekend, endured the misfortune of a hydraulic failure in Q1. The Mexican will therefore start from 17th on the grid, but with a host of fresh tyres available, optimism remains high.
"As you can see from Kamui’s result the car is quite competitive, and I was optimistic t I would also make it to Q3. But then on my last lap in Q1 in sector two I suddenly had a hydraulic problem, I lost everything, starting with the power steering.
"Therefore I could not go out in Q2, which is obviously disappointing. The mechanics worked very hard and tried to fix it, but we have to do some further investigations and I’m sure we will be alright for the race.
"For me the weekend isn’t that easy because I also have a cold. However, looking at it positively - I have plenty of good tyres for tomorrow’s race."
Latest development:
Kobayashi promoted to seventh place
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Kamui Kobayashi
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:30.466 | 14 |
| 2. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:30.475 | 14 |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:30.617 | 14 |
| 4. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:30.804 | 15 |
| 5. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:30.886 | 13 |
| 6. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:31.156 | 14 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | no time | 10 |
| 8. | B. Senna | Lotus Renault | no time | 12 |
| 9. | V. Petrov | Lotus Renault | no time | 17 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | no time | 15 |
| Full results | ||||
| Sergio Perez | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Sergio Perez photos | |||
| Kamui Kobayashi | |||
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| More Kamui Kobayashi photos | |||
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