Reward in 300th GP (Sauber race review)

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Sauber marked their 300th Grand Prix – including 85 started as BMW – with their best result of the season so far. Both drivers were in the points for the first time in 2010.

Pedro de la RosaKamui Kobayashi
Qualifying position923
Qualifying time comparison (Q1)1’21.891 (-0.331)1’22.222
Race position79
Average race lap1’27.919 (-0.035)1’27.954
Laps69/7069/70
Pit stops11

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Pedro de la Rosa

Paid tribute to the improved performance of the C29 in slow corners after taking ninth on the grid in qualifying:

I am happy with my performance but, more importantly, I am very proud of the team. The car was really good. My position proves how much progress the guys from Hinwil have made with the car, especially to make it quicker in slow corners. They just kept their heads down and worked hard, and they have turned it around.
Pedro de la Rosa

He brought the car home seventh with Jenson Button unable to challenge him after their pit stops.

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

Kamui Kobayashi

Failed to get out of Q1 for the third time in five races after being briefly held up by Bruno Senna. Made matters worse by driving past a red light when he returned to the pits, which was supposed to direct him to the weigh bridge. He was handed a five-place grid penalty.

Afterwards technical director James Key said Kobayashi had done his final run on the medium tyres in order to save a set of softs:

On the second run, also on the prime tyres in order to save a set of option tyres, unfortunately Kamui caught some traffic on two of his laps in the final run, which spoilt the laps for him. Nevertheless, had we gone with the softer tyres, I believe he would still have gone through. That was our mistake, and we apologise to Kamui for that.
James Key

Kobayashi made amends on race day, gaining seven places on the first lap. Later on he passed Michael Schumacher at the restart, which ensured he was able to get ahead of Rubens Barrichello when the Williams driver pitted.

It left him in an unlikely but wholly deserved ninth place at the end of the race.

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

2010 Hungarian Grand Prix

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    Author information

    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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    15 comments on “Reward in 300th GP (Sauber race review)”

    1. mika's_toolbox
      1st August 2010, 22:27

      What a great recovery drive from Kobayashi, about as much as anyone could have done on a circuit like this… If he can keep up this form the boy will go on to great things.

      1. If he can just improve in qualifying…

        He’s definitely been one of the most exciting drivers to watch in the races this year, and I really believe he’s capable of much more, but he’ll have to start outqualifying his teammate more definitively if he wants to start racking up serious points.

        1. Well, as Key says: he was stuck on mediums, with the softer compound he would have been able to go through.

    2. Great move to overtake schumacher on the restart, we saw how aggressively he can and will defend his position, even now!

    3. ‘Failed to get out of Q3 for the third time’
      he was never in Q3 at hungary.

      1. Sorry that should be Q1 – fixed.

    4. Charles Carroll
      2nd August 2010, 4:40

      Can’t help but pull for a guy who is the son of a sushi chef and thought about being a stand-up comedian.

      I hope he continues to impress!

    5. Sauber is getting into grip, the next two track will demand low aerodynamic grip & more mechanical grip with fast flowing corners I won’t be surprise if they repeat this performance in the next two races as well.

    6. Kobayashi shows this track really offers opportunities for first lap storming the pack. Great drive by him. And a very good drive for Pedro de la Rosa both on saturday and yesterday.
      If Sauber finds a sponsor for next year, expect them to get back in the mix with Renault, Mercedes, FI and Williams consistently.

    7. Really happy to see DLR scoring his first points of the season. Buemi aside, the man had been among the unluckiest in the grid this year.

      Definitely this team has one of the most refreshing pairs of drivers in the grid: Kamui is everything we liked about Sato and gives the impression that there’s a lot more to come from him. Pedro is giving the youngster a run for his money, particularly in qualifying, and he is also having the time of his life after a few years getting rusty: I hear no driver talk about this sport with the love and enthusiasm Pedro does.

      With these two at the wheel, it’ll be a shame if Sauber doesn’t make it to the 2011 grid. What’s the latest you’ve heard about Sauber’s future, Keith?

      1. Christopher Vissing
        2nd August 2010, 10:20

        Amen, that’s true words. It’s a real shame if Sauber doesn’t get to the 2011 grid. I haven’t heard any rumours about it?

    8. I remember that I wasn’t too happy that we never saw Kobayashi’s pass on Schumacher. I see a podium for Kamui in the near future.

      1. Charles Carroll
        3rd August 2010, 14:28

        It would take a bunch of lucky breaks for Sauber to win a podium appearance this year. However, given the volatile nature of the sport this year (both on track and in qualifying), you never know.

        Here is to hoping it will happen!

    9. I’m glad about Sauber, they’re one of my very favourite teams and driver line-ups. It appears the reliability issues have gone and they’re showing everyone the sort of pace we saw in pre-seaosn testing! Marvellous!

    10. When’s Barrichello’s 300th race then? I remember both Rubens and Sauber’s first race was on the same day. Sauber had to withdraw from a race in Brazil because their wings were unsafe, and Barrichello missed Imola 1994 of course…so why are they out of step?

    Comments are closed.