Kamui Kobayashi will fight for a podium place

Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi has vowed that he will fight for a podium place after finishing third in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver was fourth quickest overall but moved up due to Jenson Button's five-place grid penalty.

The future of Sauber has been in doubt over the season, but Kobayashi was pleased with the results of this morning's session.

"It was great," he said. "We had some difficult moments with the car yesterday.

"We were not happy so we changed the settings this morning and had a big step forward in qualifying.

"We are already in the position, but we will need to fight and challenge to be on the podium."

The race gets underway tomorrow at 7am, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in pole position and his teammate Mark Webber in second on the grid.