Sauber pair
Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez say they are hopeful of a strong weekend on what will be their F1 debuts on the current Bahrain layout.
Kobayashi has actually competed in the Gulf state before while with Sauber, although that appearance came on the longer version of the Bahrain circuit used back in 2010.
As such, the Japanese driver will be competing on the more commonly known Bahrain layout for the first time and he will hope to come away from the weekend with a third points finish in four races this season.
“Bahrain is one of my favorite circuits, and its layout is really good,” he said. “I also like the high ambient temperatures there. It feels like summer. There was no race last year, so we have to guess how the track conditions are. Maybe it will be very slippery in the beginning. We will be driving on the shorter version of the track, where I have never raced in a
Formula One car.
“However, I drove many laps there in testing with Toyota, and I raced in GP2, so I know the track well. We obviously have to be prepared to make sure we keep everything very cool.”
Like Kobayashi, the only past racing experience that Perez has of the Bahrain circuit comes from
GP2 and the Mexican said he was looking forward to tackling the venue in F1 machinery.
“I have never raced in a
Formula One car in Bahrain so far but, I have good memories linked to that circuit because I won a
GP2 race there back in 2008,” he said. “That was the one and only time I have raced there up to now. It is quite a stop-and-go circuit and I think rear tyre degradation can be quite high.
“Overall I feel that our team has a good momentum and we have to make sure we also keep it for the next race weekend.”