Kamui Kobayashi: Sauber in for 'challenging' time at Monza

Sauber is currently sixth place in the constructors' championship but is facing an increasing threat from rival Force India, which is just three points behind after a recent run of good form.

And with the high-speed nature of Monza expected to once again play into the hands of Force India, Kobayashi is being realistic about Sauber's chances.

"Monza will be challenging, we have to find the best possible set-up for the car and see how fast we can go on the long straights," he said.

"Last year we qualified 12th, which wasn't too bad, because we expected difficulties there. Hopefully the race this year can be better.

"Last year I didn't manage to do the race because I had a technical problem, and I retired on my first lap after starting from the pitlane. But this year I am quite confident of doing a good race."

Like every team on the grid, Sauber will be running a Monza-specific low downforce front and rear wing specification next weekend.

Technical director James Key said: "Technically it's by far the lowest drag level circuit of the season. To get the drag down to levels which are optimum you have to reduce downforce, which is why we call it a low downforce track, although fundamentally it's a low drag track."