Kamui eyeing places 'just after podium'

Sauber are setting themselves very ambitious targets this year with Kamai Kobayashi saying they are eyeing the places "just after the podium".

The Hinwil-based outfit impressed just about everyone during pre-season testing and Kobayashi and team-mate often found themselves occupying the places behind Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.

Kobayashi, who is preparing for his first full season in Formula One, says they plan to "fight with everybody".

"We need to score points so P8 or P9 will not do," he told the official Formula One website.

"We have to try to occupy the positions just after the podium, and if we are lucky sometimes even the podium itself. We have to fight with everybody - especially the top four teams. If you don't fight with them, how will you ever catch them?"

Kobayashi admits their pace during pre-season testing hardly came as a surprise to those who have been working on the car.

"Well, we have been pretty good," he said. "The two Jerez weeks were not ideal, but it was the same for everybody. The Barcelona test compensated a bit and we were able to proceed with our programme.

"We are not surprised about the pace that the car has and how good it is compared to the others. We'll see in Bahrain. What makes me confident is that we haven't struggled with anything in particular."

Kamui eyeing places 'just after podium' - Planet-F1 News from planet-f1.com