Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi admits it has been a mixed season for Sauber with plenty of ups and downs.
The Japanese driver is 11th in the Drivers' Standings with 27 points, his best result being a fifth-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. His team-mate Sergio Perez has accumulated nine points with the six he picked up in Britain accounting for most of them.
Sauber though also had some lows with Melbourne standing out for all the wrong reasons after both cars were disqualified for technical rear-wing infringements.
Kobayashi feels it has been a bittersweet season so far for the Hinwil squad.
"We are certainly more competitive than last year," he said. "We had an amazing start to the season in Melbourne, and also since then have had some other good races in which we have been quite competitive. My highlights were Monaco and Montreal.
"But we have also had our struggles. In Melbourne we lost 10 points when we were disqualified, then I had punctures in Turkey and Barcelona, and then gearbox problems in Silverstone and most recently in Monza. You can add to that the fact not all our technical developments during the season brought the progress we expected. So far it has been a mixed season with ups and downs, but it isn't over yet."
Next up on the calendar is his home race at Suzuka Circuit. Kobayashi delighted his Japanese followers in 2010 by finishing seventh and he hopes to achieve a similar result this time around.
"Last year's result was the best we achieved in 2010," he said.
"I came seventh, while my team-mate then, Nick Heidfeld, finished eighth. Before that I had very little experience in Suzuka, and I was an F1 rookie. So I hope I can have an even better result this year. For the fans I hope we have nice weather. I think with DRS and KERS there is a good chance they will get to see a great show again, and it would also be a perfect venue for the Drivers' Championship to be decided. It is a proper race track, the karaoke parties are legendary and, again, it would mean really positive coverage for Japan."
This year's race though will be an emotional one not only for Kobayashi, but also for the fans as Japan is still recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.
"After the news we received in March about the disaster became worse and worse, I think the way the country has recovered so far is impressive," the 25-year-old said. "This is because Japan received a lot of help from outside and also because the Japanese are very strong people and have given each other an awful lot of help and support. Of course, there is still a long way to go, but the progress has been remarkable."
He added: "The grand prix is a very big event in Japan, it is something very positive for the people and for the country, and also because of the international awareness the race brings. It makes people happy, and they do enjoy Formula One a lot. So we are going racing there, as we have done in previous years, despite the tragedy that has hit the country."
