Another double DNF (Sauber race review)

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As Sauber’s own press release put it: “In what was a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix with great motor racing. Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa played a rather insignificant role.”

Pedro de la RosaKamui Kobayashi
Qualifying position1718
Qualifying time comparison (Q1)1’17.611 (-0.408)1’18.019
Race position
Average race lap1’24.440 (-22.768)1’47.208
Laps30/701/70
Pit stops10

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Pedro de la Rosa

Didn’t even make it to the first corner before he’d been taken out by an out-of-control Vitaly Petrov.

Pitted for a new front wing and was running 14th when his engine died on lap 31.

Compare Pedro de la Rosa’s form against his team mate in 2010

Kamui Kobayashi

Kobayashi made great progress on the super-soft tyres at the start, moving up from 18th to tenth as he dodged the various collisions.

He passed Nico Hulkenberg on the approach to the final chicane, putting him ninth, but both out-braked themselves. While Hulkenberg took to the escape road Kobayashi bounced across the kerbs and into the wall.

He said:

This should not have happened. I had made a very good start from 18th and on the first lap was fighting with Nico Hulkenberg down the back straight for ninth. In front of us was Michael Schumacher, apparently having some troubles with braking before the chicane. All three of us were braking late and then I suddenly had nowhere to go. I hit the kerb, the car jumped and I had damaged it so badly that I had to stop.
Kamui Kobayashi

Compare Kamui Kobayashi’s form against his team mate in 2010

2010 Canadian Grand Prix

    Browse all 2010 Canadian Grand Prix articles

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    10 comments on “Another double DNF (Sauber race review)”

    1. I’d love to see this on-board first lap with Kobayashi.

      1. After the second corner there’s not a huge amount to see. He got a run at Hülkenberg because Schumacher was slow around L’Epingle.

        He should have made the move stick and from ninth, likely to be on the ‘correct’ strategy, he could have had a very good race.

        1. Yep. Massively disappointing after gaining 9 places at the start. That’s impressive. I think the lesson is that Kobayashi needs to keep his distance from Hülkenberg in the opening stages of races.

    2. On the BBC F1 Forum Coulthard said that after his experience in a Championship winning team with McLaren when he went to Red Bull he immediately saw areas which needed improving he asked De La Rosa what were the main problems at Sauber and he said they didn’t have a simulator which considering the team used to be BMW I found quite surprising.

      Did I misunderstand and he just meant Sauber just don’t have as good a simulator as Mclaren, or do they not have one at all?

      Also De La Rosa said the engine failure was even more worrying as it had been a new engine on Saturday.

      1. Sush Meerkat
        14th June 2010, 16:12

        I don’t think they have a simulator, Kamui mentioned in quali build up that he had to learn the track just from FP.

      2. I cracked up watching the race on SPEED, and senile old David Hobbs said something to the effect of “engine failure, this is very unusual.” I could be wrong, but it didn’t seem that he was being sarcastic, and I couldn’t figure out what F1 season he’s been watching this year. So far those Ferrari engines have been nothing but trouble, especially for Sauber. STR seem to be the only Ferrari engined team that hasn’t had major issues so far.

        1. well Ferrari aren’t having any problems with their own engine, neither has STR with customer-spec. It really is baffling what Sauber are doing wrong, because they’re the only one doing it (and so spectacularly at that)

          1. Not any more, at least – they had a double change at Bahrain, Alonso’s blew in the race at Sepang and he lost another in practice at Shanghai.

            1. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Alonso engine-wise at the end of the season if he’s still in the hunt for the championship given those early season failures. Red Bull will have that to worry about as well. It certainly could end up being a huge advantage to McLaren with the best engine in F1 in their car.

        2. Charles Carroll
          15th June 2010, 23:34

          My wife and I love watching races that Hobbs does, because you never know what he’ll say.

          “That Vitaly Petrov has ENORMOUS attachments”

          and

          “Passing ol’ Bobby Kubica is a ‘whole ‘nuther kettle o’ fish”

          and

          “Ol’ M. Schumacher is looking as fit as a butcher’s dog”

          I love that guy!

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