Kamui Kobayashi’s final race for Sauber didn’t provide the dream send-off as he fell to ninth place late on at Interlagos. The Japanese driver was flying early on and was involved in a battle with Sebastian Vettel mid-race but a spin when battling with Michael Schumacher dropped him from seventh to ninth at the end.
“I had a good start and stayed out of trouble. The beginning of the race was good. Then the track conditions became tricky with the drizzle and I had contact with Mark Webber’s car. That was why we had to change the nose cone when I pitted for intermediate tyres after eight laps. At my second pit stop after 18 laps I changed to hard slick tyres. For some reason it was a rather long stop, but nevertheless afterwards I was in sixth again. I think we did my last pit stop one lap too late. The conditions were right for Intermediates again. However, the weather forecast apparently said something different and then we also had a problem with the front left. At the end I was much quicker than Michael (Schumacher) and tried to overtake him, but on the inside it was a lot wetter than on the racing line and I lost the rear. Overall I think it was a really good race. I was able to do my own race and fight. I am happy for the team and for myself that we have scored points in this our last race together. I want to thank Sauber for the good times we have had and now I will try to find myself a Formula One cockpit for next year.“
Teammate Sergio Perez was also looking to bow out in style but the Mexican was caught up in the first lap accident involving Vettel and Bruno Senna.
“I really wanted to finish the season in a different way. It was a great season with three podiums and I want to thank everyone at Sauber. I wish the team all the best and will now take on my new challenge. I didn’t really understand what happened after the start today. I went to the inside to avoid contact with other cars and then people crashed into me.”