Kobayashi: in Monaco a lot of things can happen

Kamui Kobayashi is sure he will be able to fight for points this weekend in Monaco, although he concedes that it will be crucial to 'stay out of trouble'. Kobayashi took his best result of the season last time out in Spain when he brought his Sauber home in fifth and the Japanese driver is 'quite confident' the C31 will suit the tight and twisty confines of Monte Carlo. Looking ahead to the event, he also added that his form at the Principality twelve months ago gives him a boost too. “I have good memories of Monaco. I finished fifth there last year, which was really great,” he stated ahead of the sixth round on the 2012 F1 schedule. “Monaco is a very special track for the drivers. “Our car seems to be strong on most of the tracks. Now it will be interesting to see how competitive it will be on a street circuit, but I'm quite confident it will be strong there as well. In Monaco a lot of things can happen, therefore it's important to stay out of trouble and make it to the end. If we do that then I'm sure we will be able to fight for points.” Sauber's chief designer, Matt Morris meanwhile is equally upbeat and he is also convinced that the Swiss-based squad can maintain its good start to the year. “The Monaco track is probably the one where the driver has the most influence on the overall performance. Last year both our drivers were competitive – Sergio [Perez] until his accident in Q3, and Kamui finished a strong fifth in the race. The main challenge for setting up the car will be to optimise the mechanical grip. I'm confident we will be able to handle this,” he stated. “The development package that we ran for the first time in Barcelona will also be used again in Monaco, so we will be able to carry over its performance gain. “We have been competitive so far this season, and I'm confident we can be very strong in Monaco as well.”