Sauber drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi are hoping to secure fifth place for the team in the Constructors’ Championship in what looks certain to be their last race with the Swiss outfit. Sauber trail Mercedes by twelve points and Perez, who is McLaren-bound in 2013, believes it would be the perfect farewell gift to overhaul that deficit.
“The Brazilian Grand Prix will be the last race of a very long season that has seen a lot of ups and downs, and it will be a very special event for me as it is the last race I will drive for my team of Sauber before I leave. It is a great team and I want to thank everybody for everything they have done for me over the last two years. I am sure it will be very emotional for me in Interlagos. The best way to say thank you, of course, would be a great result and to beat the team in front of us. This is my target. The Interlagos circuit is very nice and it also has a great atmosphere with the fans. The support for Formula One is huge there. The Senna S corners are my favourite part of the circuit. I believe and I hope our car should be good enough there for a strong top ten position.”
Kobayashi looks likely to lose his seat to current reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez but is focussing on the race and counts it among his favourite on the calendar.
“I like Brazil! I like the Brazilians and I like the Churrascarias. Interlagos is the place where I drove my first Formula One race in 2009, and last year we were in a battle with Toro Rosso for seventh place in the championship, which we were finally able to defend. I’m really looking forward to this Grand Prix. It’s always special to race in front of the Brazilian fans because they are so enthusiastic about motorsport. I have heard from many different people that I have a lot of fans in Brazil, which is a surprise to me, but a very nice one. I like to race on this track. Tyre management is especially quite a challenge and more pit stops are the result. This will give us the choice of different strategies. This is something we have to focus on. My personal goal is to have a successful race and score as many points as possible.”
