Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez endured similarly challenging qualifying sessions in Korea this afternoon, with the pair having to settle for 14th and 17th respectively. On-going grip issues hampered both men throughout the session, leaving the Hinwil-based squad with no answer for the pace of their usual rivals.
"We have had a difficult time here so far,” said Japan’s Kobayashi. "Fourteenth on the grid is obviously not what we were hoping for, and we are quite far away from our competitors. The main problem is still a lack of grip, which is caused by a combination of factors.
"My lap as such in Q2 was okay, I can’t complain about traffic and didn’t make a mistake. It was pretty much the best I could achieve today. However, the race tomorrow will be a different story. Because of the changing weather from Friday, we have very little experience with the tyres we have here in dry conditions with high fuel loads. Regarding this, we will only learn more tomorrow and I hope it plays in our hands."
Pérez added his thoughts: "For me this was a very bad qualifying. After our only dry running was this morning and also for me the track is new, I am not happy with the balance and the set-up of the car. I didn’t feel at all confident in the car.
"My final lap in Q2 was particularly bad because I hadn’t got the brake balance right and had the fronts locking. I now have a bad grid position and I think we should go for an aggressive race strategy."
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Sergio Perez
Kamui Kobayashi
Teams
Sauber
Other
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:35.820 | 14 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:36.042 | 12 |
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:36.126 | 14 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:36.468 | 11 |
| 5. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:36.831 | 16 |
| 6. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:36.980 | 11 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:37.754 | 12 |
| 8. | V. Petrov | Lotus Renault | 01:38.124 | 19 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | no time | 16 |
| 10. | A. Sutil | Force India | no time | 14 |
| Full results | ||||
| Kamui Kobayashi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Kamui Kobayashi photos | |||
| Sergio Perez | |||
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| More Sergio Perez photos | |||
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