Sergio Perez - one stopper - wtf

[jackanderton]

Come on then, how did the lad manage that? I'm guessing he isn't superhuman- we had Webber and Alonso chewing up Pirellis so quickly they 3-stopped and their laptimes fell away 10 laps after the change. Meanwhile Perez keeps a near constant race pace on two sets of tyres for 58 laps that everyone has been worried about 5 second drop-offs after 15-20 laps.

I remember one race last year, Valencia possibly, where Kobayashi stayed out on 1 set of tyres practically the whole race. Do Sauber have some sort of super setup that's kind on tyres?

What's even more impressive is that it was done from midfield where tyre wear is usually greater due to the likelihood of being involved in overtakes, late braking, lock-ups etc, etc.

And finally, he seems a really nice guy, which in my book turns Sauber into my team to follow this season.

[Tealy]

Come on then, how did the lad manage that? I'm guessing he isn't superhuman- we had Webber and Alonso chewing up Pirellis so quickly they 3-stopped and their laptimes fell away 10 laps after the change. Meanwhile Perez keeps a near constant race pace on two sets of tyres for 58 laps that everyone has been worried about 5 second drop-offs after 15-20 laps.

I remember one race last year, Valencia possibly, where Kobayashi stayed out on 1 set of tyres practically the whole race. Do Sauber have some sort of super setup that's kind on tyres?

What's even more impressive is that it was done from midfield where tyre wear is usually greater due to the likelihood of being involved in overtakes, late braking, lock-ups etc, etc.

And finally, he seems a really nice guy, which in my book turns Sauber into my team to follow this season.

My best guess is a mixture of his driving style, the car being light on the tyres and the fact he rarely overtook anyone which meant he didn't leave the racing line too often. It's possible other drivers could have done the same but didn't take the risk for fear of the tyres dying on them in the last few laps. Perez made a calculated risk and it paid off for him.

[Salamander]

Indeed, excellent debut from him - certainly shows that Peter Sauber still knows how to pick a promising young driver.

[LukeB]

They should use that lake to test if he's a witch.

[TomWazzleshaw]

They should use that lake to test if he's a witch.

As soon as I read that this came to mind.

[DanielPT]

Must be that technical illegality!

[Aerospeed]

Quickly! Before he turns Kobayashi into a newt!

[patrick]

Makes me think, the only car to one stop was part developed by someone who tested tyres for pirelli. is it possible sauber gained a lot more from hiring Heidfeld than we originally thought?

[dr-baker]

Makes me think, the only car to one stop was part developed by someone who tested tyres for pirelli. is it possible sauber gained a lot more from hiring Heidfeld than we originally thought?

And Heidfeld's development of the Lada-Renault allowed Petrol to finish third?

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Makes me think, the only car to one stop was part developed by someone who tested tyres for pirelli. is it possible sauber gained a lot more from hiring Heidfeld than we originally thought?

And Heidfeld's development of the Lada-Renault allowed Petrol to finish third?

Nick, please join HRT.

No matter if they have money or not

[mario]

Come on then, how did the lad manage that? I'm guessing he isn't superhuman- we had Webber and Alonso chewing up Pirellis so quickly they 3-stopped and their laptimes fell away 10 laps after the change. Meanwhile Perez keeps a near constant race pace on two sets of tyres for 58 laps that everyone has been worried about 5 second drop-offs after 15-20 laps.

I remember one race last year, Valencia possibly, where Kobayashi stayed out on 1 set of tyres practically the whole race. Do Sauber have some sort of super setup that's kind on tyres?

What's even more impressive is that it was done from midfield where tyre wear is usually greater due to the likelihood of being involved in overtakes, late braking, lock-ups etc, etc.

And finally, he seems a really nice guy, which in my book turns Sauber into my team to follow this season.

My best guess is a mixture of his driving style, the car being light on the tyres and the fact he rarely overtook anyone which meant he didn't leave the racing line too often. It's possible other drivers could have done the same but didn't take the risk for fear of the tyres dying on them in the last few laps. Perez made a calculated risk and it paid off for him.

Pirelli were just as astounded as anybody else - they went as far as saying that they thought there must have been some sort of mistake, and that Perez had stopped twice. He did say after the race that he had been careful not to push too early - he came out behind Vettel at one point, but decided to drop back and out of his turbulent wake to stop the car sliding and wearing the tyres out more quickly. Then there are a few more factors in play - the circuit is not especially tough on the tyres, his driving style was especially smooth and the car was pretty gentle on the tyres, all of which helped - even so, Paul Hembrey (Pirelli's representative) said that he thought Perez's drive is probably more of a one off. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/ma ... grand-prix

The irony is that neither Perez or Sauber has planned on a 1 stopper to begin with - they originally wanted to two stop, like Kobayashi and most of the field did, but Perez's times were so consistent that they just left him out there. It's just a shame that his efforts went to waste with that DSQ...