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Kobayashi targets top four in Monaco

Kamui Kobayashi finished fifth in Barcelona but fighting through traffic left him over a minute behind the winner © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Kamui Kobayashi

• Teams:
• Alfa Romeo

Kamui Kobayashi is targeting a top four finish in Monaco after the upgraded Sauber saw him have a strong race in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Starting from ninth on the grid, Kobayashi finished fifth having found his way past Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button on track. With the C31 receiving an update following the Mugello test, Kobayashi said that the car is better than it was in 2011 and as a result is targeting an improvement on last year's fifth place finish in the principality.

"[Monaco] obviously provides an entirely different challenge than that of the Circuit de Catalunya," Kobayashi said. "In Monaco the car is bouncing on bumps, you have understeer and oversteer when you are driving on the limit and the track doesn't forgive any mistakes. I think our car will be better in Monaco than it was last year because it has improved in slow corners. In 2011 I finished fifth, so the target should be to finish higher up this year. However, even if you are given the best car in Monaco, in the end a lot is down to the driver to get the ultimate tenths of a second out of it."

Kobayashi's performance in Barcelona has given him confidence that the car can look after its tyres better, allowing him to push harder and execute some of his trademark passing moves.

"I think we have improved in the areas we wanted to. The car is better balanced through the corners now. In terms of stability I would say it is about the same, but stability always depends a lot on the track conditions ... I definitely had confidence in the car in Barcelona when overtaking. I also feel with the update we can now handle the tyre management better during the race. We had been a bit weak on that side before."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.