Kobayashi aims to reward Sauber in the race after qualifying crash

The Japanese driver crashed against the wall at Turn 10 after jumping over the chicane during his first run in the second qualifying segment.

The crash caused a red flag and meant Kobayashi qualified in 17th position after failing to set a time.

Kobayashi was sorry for the accident, and is now hoping to pay his team back in the race.

I ended up in the wall in Q2 and the accident was my fault," said Kobayashi. "I feel very sorry for the team. I took too much kerb in turn 10, the car jumped too high and this was the outcome.

"I saw a chance to fight for Q3, but it didn't work out. I was taken to the medical centre and was quite surprised at how carefully they checked me. However, physically I'm absolutely fine. I will do my utmost tomorrow to fight for points and give something back to the team."

Rookie team-mate Sergio Perez had a strong day, qualifying in 11th position after just missing the cut to go into Q3.

"Overall I am pleased with our qualifying performance today, although it is a shame not to have made it into Q3, as it was very close," he said. "My lap in Q2 wasn't really perfect, the one in Q1 was actually better, as I felt more traction then.

"Nevertheless I'm very confident for tomorrow, as we normally have a strong race pace. The circuit is very technical and a driver can easily make a mistake, or with a good performance make a difference. I strongly believe I will finish in the points tomorrow."