Peter Sauber confident in young duo
Team Sauber's boss, Peter Sauber, has said he is thrilled with the performance of his young driver Kamui Kobayashi, and is hopeful new signing Sergio Perez will only help the
team..
With the new signing of Perez alongside rookie Kobayashi's renewed contract, Sauber is teeming with young spirit for the 2011 Formula 1 season. The eighth-ranked team, hoping
to gain position in the last two races of the season, replaced veteran Pedro de la Rosa in favour of Nick Heidfeld in time for the Singapore Grand Prix. Yet despite Heidfeld's impressive track record of past years, the team has chosen to fuel their prospects
with fresher blood which they can cultivate with the developing car.
In particular, Kobayashi has enjoyed a successful season. “We are all positively surprised by Kamui,” reflected team boss Peter Sauber, according to Autosport. “What is significant is the fact that the
rookie scored significantly more points than the experienced driver [De la Rosa] in our case. I am convinced [Kobayashi] can make another step forward next year.”
Kobayashi currently ranks 12th in the driver's championship with 31 points, a record which clearly demonstrates his prowess over former colleague De la Rosa's meagre 6 points. Yet Sauber attributes some
of De la Rosa's inability to progress with the technical shortcomings of the car earlier in the year.
“With a rookie and with Pedro, who was out of Formula 1 for many years, we scored one point in the first eight races. In the next eight races, we scored 36 points,” he commented.
“With a reliable car, reliable engine and gearbox, it would have also been possible to score 36 points in the first part of this period. With a rookie and - I don't like this word - old driver, we could
have been in a good position.”
And as the car continues to improve its performance on the track, harnessing the talents of GP2 driver Perez alongside Kobayashi could prove a profitable endeavour. The 20-year-old Mexican finished second
in this year's GP2 series, and Sauber is a worthy team for prospective rookies. Sauber's 2001 signing of Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen – both drivers being fairly new to F1 at this time – resulted in claiming a prestigious fourth place in the constructor's
championship.
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