Continuing Sauber’s remarkable run of form in the 2012 Formula 1 season, Kamui Kobayashi will start third on the grid in China. This follows second place in the Malaysian Grand Prix for team-mate Sergio Pérez, who this time starts eighth.
Not only has Kobayashi surprised many with his impressive performance, but rivals such as Jenson Button have admitted their worries about the Sauber’s long-run pace.
“I am very happy, the team did a great job,” says the Japanese driver. “For quite a while we have kept saying we need to improve our qualifying performance and I think this was a clear improvement today. This grid position obviously means a lot of chances. However, I am not a dreamer and the target remains the same: score as many points as you can. We have a strong car, normally it is also good on tyres and I am looking forward to the race full of confidence.”
Pérez is also pleased with the overall performance, but naturally disappointed that he was unable to match his team-mate in the same way he did in Q2.
“It is obviously a good qualifying result for our team,” the Mexican commented. “Personally, I must admit I even hoped for more than P8. After the previous runs had been very promising, on the final lap in Q3, when I was on a fresh set of Soft tyres, I suddenly had understeer. I don’t know where this came from. In any case, it will be a tough race tomorrow and I will give it my best.”
Heading into Sunday’s race, Sauber lies fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:35.121 | 11 |
| 2. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:35.626 | 14 |
| 3. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:35.691 | 13 |
| 4. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 01:35.784 | 13 |
| 5. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:35.898 | 15 |
| 6. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:36.191 | 16 |
| 7. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:36.290 | 14 |
| 8. | S. Perez | Sauber | 01:36.524 | 17 |
| 9. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:36.622 | 17 |
| 10. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | no time | 15 |
| Full results | ||||
| Kamui Kobayashi | |||
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| More Kamui Kobayashi photos | |||
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