Kobayashi takes sixth (Sauber race review)

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Kamui Kobayashi finished higher than he did at Valencia after a more low-key performance.

But Pedro de la Rosa had to retire after one run-in too many with Adrian Sutil.

Pedro de la RosaKamui Kobayashi
Qualifying position912
Qualifying time comparison (Q2)1’31.327 (-0.094)1’31.421
Race position6
Average race lap1’40.499 (+2.223)1’38.276
Laps29/5252/52
Pit stops21

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Pedro de la Rosa

Qualified a season-best ninth but lost several places after Rubens Barrichello put him on the run-off at Copse.

First Michael Schumacher and Kamui Kobayashi got past, then Jenson Button and Adrian Sutil pounced as de la Rosa had to avoid Sebastian Vettel.

De la Rosa briefly re-passed Sutil at The Loop, only to lose the place again. During the pit stops his team mate got him back in front of the Force India.

But as de la Rosa tried to defend from Sutil on lap 26 the pair made contact, breaking the sides of the Sauber’s rear wing. More debris fell off them on the Hanger straight causing the Safety Car to come out.

The team briefly sent him back out after inspecting the damage to his rear wing and diffuser but on reflection chose to retire him.

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

Kamui Kobayashi

Gained places at the start partly thanks to his team mate’s misfortune.

Capitalised on a mistake by Michael Schumacher to get ahead of the Mercedes driver at the pit stops which ultimately left him in sixth, matching the best result of his career to date.

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

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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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    14 comments on “Kobayashi takes sixth (Sauber race review)”

    1. Brilliant Fantastic from Kobayashi, hes sooo aggressive i really like his style, i think Ferrari should snap him up to replace Massa who is simply just not fast enough to be justified in a top team.

      1. Saying that i think having two hot heads like Alonso and Kobayashi in your team will be a management nightmare as Fiery Spaniard Alonso is proving to be.

        1. It appears that Alonso on his own is hard to manage, But Ferrari management don’t seem to be helping the situation.

    2. Actually Sutil just hit de la Rosa from behind in the straight.

    3. Fantastic driving again from Kobayashi. Hopefully he can learn from his team mate a bit more about setup, and start qualifying better.

    4. Either by design or by accident, Kobayashi seems to be paying back for the faith Sauber had to sign him for the season. Not saying he is another Kimi, but who knows.

      1. I doubt it’s by accident and probably in part by design. He’s coupled with a very experienced F1 driver and driving for a well organized team.

        He’s still showing he’s an actual racer, but seems to be learning how to produce a solid race of the full distance quite quickly.

        As soon as his cars stopped blowing up, so did he. I hope he continues to perform as well as he has in the past couple of races.

    5. Kobayashi is a hot head? Have you ever even read an interview with him? You need to think before you post irrelevant things @Subaru_STi. He is aggressive but off the track he is very light hearted, much more like Button if anyone. Please actually know drivers and read up on them and their interviews.

    6. Keep up the GOOD work Kobayashi.

    7. again this is prove that it’s not luck but kobayashi driving skill combine with reliable C29; this japanese ace can perform at his best level

    8. It’s been a long time since I posted a comment on this site, but if Kobayashi keeps it up, he’ll be fighting for podium finishes later in the year, and that would be really cool.

      1. Charles Carroll
        14th July 2010, 3:43

        That would sure be cool to see! It would take some considerable heavy lifting on Sauber’s part to make the C29 as competitive as Mercedes and Renault in order to get a podium finish, but you know what? Anything is possible this year!

        That is why its been a fun year to watch!

    9. HounslowBusGarage
      13th July 2010, 22:36

      In these days of corporate PR speak and ‘smoothest is quickest’ driving, it’s refreshing to come across someone like Kobayashi who is off-track remarkably reasonable and mild, but on-track is super aggressive. I thought he was a bit OTT at the end of last season, but I think he’s learnt a lot about F1 since then without losing his natural agression. That was a great result for him and Sauber on Sunday, and long may he continue to challenge the accepted order of things.

    10. Personally I wish some Japanese companies would get behind Kobayashi and Sauber and give them some much needed financial support. Obviously Koba is impressing with his driving skill, and Sauber is constantly improving, they just need a good sponsor to make the team more stable. Come on Japan!

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