Today I am reviewing a very special car. With the Mexican GP back on the calendar and with Sergio Perez already scoring a Podium in the 2015 season. I thought I would review a car that has been on my wish list. I have been fortunate to be able to get my hands on one as well. This review is the Sauber C31 and it is the exact model of the car Perez scored his first Podium in Malaysia in 2012.
2012 F1 Season.
12 teams were entered into the 2012 season and they would compete over 20 races. The season would break new records with the first 7 races being won by 7 different drivers. Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi were retained by Sauber for the 2012 season.
Sauber's 2012 Season.
Sauber had a difficult year in 2011 only just beating Toro Rosso by 3 points. However the 2012 season would throw up some great results for the team. The Ferrari powered Sauber was an excellent car. In the hands of Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi the two drivers scored their first podiums in the Sauber C31 and totaled 4 over the season, which was one more than Mercedes. The strong results throughout resulted in Perez securing a race seat with McLaren in place of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg taking the seat and moving from Force India. Sauber finished 6th in the constructors with 126 points, 16 behind Mercedes and 17 clear of Force India.
Malaysian GP 2012.
McLaren locked out the front row with Lewis Hamilton on Pole. Both HRT cars qualified after failing to in Australia but they occupied the back row and were 2 seconds behind the Marussia's. The race was action packed. The race was red flagged by heavy rain. The HRT on Narain Karthikeyan was running in 10th and collided with Jenson Button which forced him into the pits. Hamilton had a slow stop due to traffic which gave Fernando Alonso the lead. Perez who made an early stop, found himself in second.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to pit for dry-weather tyres on lap 38, triggering another round of stops. Perez also stopped and was 5 seconds behind Alonso but was catching at the same level as before. Perez got to half a second behind the Ferrari with 7 laps to go, but unfortunately he ran wide onto wet track lost grip and time to the Ferrari. Unable to close the gap Perez finished second to the experienced Spaniard. 
It was a great race with unexpected results. Sauber socred another Podium and Perez earned his first Podium.
The Model.
Product code: 410120115Scale: 1:43
Driver: Sergio Perez
Year: 2012
Limited to: 1200
This model consists of 50 parts with 105 decorations. It has 27 Mask sprays with 13 Tampo prints and 43 Decals and 22 Free sprays. This car has 0 chromed parts.
My Thoughts.
Once Perez scored his Russian Podium I thought to myself that we may see a VJM08B model. I knew that Minichamps made Perez's Sauber Podium car as well as the Bahrain Podium for the VJM07, the latter I already own. I also wanted Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber C32 so I decided to order myself one. Luckily I got this car and it's not as rare as the Force India VJM07 but it's still a worthy addition to my collection. I would love a B-Spec Russian GP Force India to go with the other two podiums I now have. In the mean time I am very happy that I have this car and I think it's great. It's well detailed and looks fantastic. If you're a Perez fan or a Sauber fan and you haven't got this car, then I suggest you try your best to get this one, just because it's limited and it's a part of Sauber's history.
Thanks for reading.
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