Sauber, Sergio Perez: “We have a general lack of pace here at the Nurburgring”

Sergio Perez says his 15th place in qualifying reflects his Sauber's maximum potential at this German Grand Prix.

The team had a disappointing qualifying with Kamui Kobayashi eliminated in Q1 and Perez only able to make little progress in Q2.

Perez insists his best lap was more or less at the limit of what could be achieved, as both drivers struggle with a general lack of pace.

“Obviously our overall performance is not good here and I think we almost maximized what was possible in qualifying under the circumstances,” Perez said.

“My fastest lap was good, there's nothing to complain about, I only locked a wheel once, but that wasn't the main problem. Maybe the lap time could have been better by one or two tenths, but certainly not more..."

Kobayashi meanwhile was plagued by traffic in Q1, but admitted his team struggled with overall performance.

“Obviously it's disappointing to go out in Q1,” he said. “My fastest lap wasn't perfect. I had some traffic in front and behind, but it's also true that we have a general lack of pace here.”

“The only positive thing is that I now have two sets of new soft tires for the race. I will do my best to recover from where I need to start.”

Technical director James Key admitted that the qualifying result could force the team to change its approach to racing, saying: “This was a disappointing qualifying and we need to think carefully about our approach to racing to do the best we can.”