The Mexican driver finished the race in 7th place – before disqualification – after doing only one pit stop in 58 laps of running. Such an achievement deserves as many praises as one can give, especially considering the highly degradable nature of the Pirelli tires.
“Outstanding for a rookie driver in his first race. We felt he was quick anyway but I think to be faced to do 38 laps on a soft tire which no one believed possible was an outstanding (performance),” said Sauber's technical director James Key.
Key was echoed by team owner Peter Sauber, who congratulated himself for signing the Mexican driver for the 2011 season of Formula 1.
“My first impression was okay because we followed him the last season in GP2 and he did a good job and also during the pre-season tests we were happy with him but in the race he was outstanding. Thirty-five laps with used soft tires, that is incredible.”
Additionally, Sauber revealed that a one-pitstop race strategy was never considered by the team prior to the start of the Melbourne running.
“It was never a decision – it was absolutely clear to do a second or third stop and we looked for a window but then the times were so good and after 40 laps we spoke about maybe it is possible and the race engineer spoke with Sergio and he said yes maybe it is possible to drive to the end.”
A few minutes after the race was over, and before the FIA stewards announced their decision, Sauber's team manager Beat Zehnder told the media ironically: “Not bad for a pay driver!”
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