Sauber: No points after tyre troubles

2011 Korean GP team review

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Sauber struggled on Korea’s low-grip surface and couldn’t get the super soft tyres to work.

Kamui KobayashiSergio Perez
Qualifying position1417
Qualifying time comparison (Q2)1’38.775 (-0.668)1’39.443
Race position1516
Laps54/5554/55
Pit stops33

Sauber drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455
Kamui Kobayashi116.406108.852108.467107.699107.527107.334108.443106.982106.858110.665123.863105.464105.4105.645107.297117.278136.415115.03155.281152.143107.316107.794106.857111.716125.422104.221104.445105.906104.44105.16104.83104.328104.038104.181103.961103.354103.315104.053103.161103.343103.835108.202119.328102.236102.08102.632105.254102.779102.66102.663102.673103.88107.632102.763
Sergio Perez119.004108.711108.767108.064107.608107.486107.034107.306107.42106.899106.698106.536106.011106.186106.672115.905153.803114.979154.858152.461107.027105.383104.526104.53104.761104.799104.414104.138104.223104.077104.317104.251104.197104.561105.346110.732120.421103.059102.425102.573103.049103.328103.129102.966103.43103.028103103.288104.003104.422104.963105.243116.962120.918

Kamui Kobayashi

Start tyreSoft
Pit stop 1Super soft 21.623s
Pit stop 2Super soft 25.578s
Pit stop 3Super soft 21.472s

Kobayashi said his qualifying position of 14th was an accurate reflection of the car’s potential: “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.”

Kobayashi started on soft tyres but discarded them for super softs after ten laps. He had already damaged his front wing in a collision with Sebastien Buemi and picked up more damage when he was squeezed by Rubens Barrichello and touched the back of Bruno Senna’s car.

“I also had some damage to the rear wing, but I don’t really know where this was from,” he added.

After pitting to change this front he wing on lap 24 he needed another stop to reach the end of the race which dropped him behind Heikki Kovalainen.

“There was obviously no chance to score points today,” he concluded. “We were just too slow, but we will go and work on it.”

Kamui Kobayashi 2011 form guide

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez, Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, Korea, 2011
Start tyreSoft
Pit stop 1Super soft 21.225s
Pit stop 2Super soft 21.385s
Pit stop 3Super soft 21.971s

Perez described his qualifying as “very bad” and he started from 17th on the grid.

He started on the soft tyres but ran into difficulty after switching to the super softs. The problem intensified on the final lap when he locked up, damaging the tyre: “I had to pit and change them three laps before the end because the front right tyre had a hole in it, and you could see the casing.

“It was a shame, but there was no way I could have finished the race with those tyres.”

Sergio Perez 2011 form guide

2011 Korean Grand Prix

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    Image © Sauber F1 Team

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    Keith Collantine
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    6 comments on “Sauber: No points after tyre troubles”

    1. Sauber is quickly going downwards the last couple of races. They even lost the ability to preserve the tyres. :(

      1. I hope not. That would be a disaster, given how good they usually are. I’m hoping this was a set-up glitch and they can sort everything out for India.

    2. I would love to see Kobayashi back at the higher end of the field. It just doesn’t seem right he’s been so far down on the last two occasions.

      1. Kobayashi is average since Canada… I never rated him very highly, so od I am not really surprised with his struggles even against less experienced Pérez…

        1. Seems to me both of the Sauber drivers are struggling.

          Sauber has just been out developed. Hopefully because they got a head start on next years cars. God I hate the off season.

    3. I get the feeling Sauber have gone backwards due to a lack of development relative to the other mid fielders. Koba and Perez are probably overdriving to compensate and running into tire problems.

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