22 drivers will line up on the 2014 Australian Grand Prix grid. Three of them will be rookies, seven will be debuting for new teams and one will be making his return to the sport.
Kamui Kobayashi’s future in Formula 1 looked uncertain when he was dropped by Sauber at the end of 2013. However, he has officially made his return to the sport after joining Caterham.
Following a few underwhelming seasons in the sport’s leading feeder series, GP2, and two years’ with Toyota as its reserve and test driver, Kobayashi was given his big F1 break at the end of 2009 to replace Timo Glock.
The Japanese driver had replaced Glock in the TF109 for the first two practice sessions of his home round at Suzuka, as he was unwell, but a crash during third practice forced him to miss the final two rounds of the championship.
Kobayashi was confirmed as his replacement for Brazil and Abu Dhabi and he immediately made an impression, but – at first – not for the right reasons.
He qualified 11th on his F1 debut but was criticised during the race for some aggressive defensive moves, particularly when battling with eventual 2009 world champion Jenson Button – who clinched the title at that very race. He eventually finished in 10th despite a collision with countryman Kazuki Nakajima, which was without doubt completely his fault.
The Yas Marina Circuit hosted the season finale and the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He lined up 12th on the grid and put on a much more mature showing to finish in sixth place, scoring the first points of his career. He was widely tipped to step up to a full-time drive at Toyota for the 2010 season, but the popular car manufacturer - like rivals Honda two years' earlier - pulled out of the sport.
He was left looking for a drive on the 2010 grid and, fortunately, he found one after his raw speed and potential caught the eye of Sauber. Confirmation of his move to the team arrived in December 2009. His first year with the Swiss outfit was certainly an exciting one, as we got our first true glimpses of his aggressive and exciting driving style.
We got to see this at the Japanese Grand Prix late in the year. He had qualified in a lowly 14th place for his home race and the pressure was on to make progress through the field. However, he didn’t crumble and completed some extremely brave overtakes to move up the order – with his favourite passing spot being the turn 11 hairpin.
Yes, there was some contact but he didn’t take anyone out, he made the move stick and he went for the gap. Sometimes, I feel we need to see more drivers like him on the grid. He takes risks and whilst it doesn’t always pay off, it makes for some fantastic racing. 2010 was a bit of a messy season for Kobayashi but he still scored points on eight occasions, sometimes – in my view – outperforming the car.
As his driving style matured, the top 10 results started to become more and more frequent – although this was also helped by the Sauber team providing him with good midfield cars for the following two seasons. He, finally, scored his debut podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix and it was on merit. He qualified well and had strong race pace throughout to finish ahead of both McLaren cars and just four seconds behind Felipe Massa's Ferrari.
Unfortunately he failed to retain his seat at Sauber for the 2013 season, as the team chose to replace him with the highly-rated Nico Hulkenberg. For the second time in his short F1 career, he was left searching for a race seat. Unfortunately this time, he wasn’t so lucky and he was forced to spend a year racing in the World Endurance Championship with AF Corse.
However, Kobayashi is back in F1 this year after finding a seat for 2014. The 27-year-old has joined the Caterham outfit and will partner Swedish rookie Marcus Ericsson. Can the team move into the midfield and make progress up the grid? Who knows, it is far too early to say.
He made his debut in the 'green machine' at the first winter test of the season in Jerez. "For me, it was good to be back in an F1 car and to be working with a team that I’m already feeling very happy with," he said.
I'm certainly pleased to see Kobayashi return to F1 and I'm excited to see what he can achieve this year. What do you think? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
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| © Caterham F1 Team |
Kamui Kobayashi’s future in Formula 1 looked uncertain when he was dropped by Sauber at the end of 2013. However, he has officially made his return to the sport after joining Caterham.
Following a few underwhelming seasons in the sport’s leading feeder series, GP2, and two years’ with Toyota as its reserve and test driver, Kobayashi was given his big F1 break at the end of 2009 to replace Timo Glock.
The Japanese driver had replaced Glock in the TF109 for the first two practice sessions of his home round at Suzuka, as he was unwell, but a crash during third practice forced him to miss the final two rounds of the championship.
Kobayashi was confirmed as his replacement for Brazil and Abu Dhabi and he immediately made an impression, but – at first – not for the right reasons.
He qualified 11th on his F1 debut but was criticised during the race for some aggressive defensive moves, particularly when battling with eventual 2009 world champion Jenson Button – who clinched the title at that very race. He eventually finished in 10th despite a collision with countryman Kazuki Nakajima, which was without doubt completely his fault.
The Yas Marina Circuit hosted the season finale and the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He lined up 12th on the grid and put on a much more mature showing to finish in sixth place, scoring the first points of his career. He was widely tipped to step up to a full-time drive at Toyota for the 2010 season, but the popular car manufacturer - like rivals Honda two years' earlier - pulled out of the sport.
 |
| © Caterham F1 Team |
He was left looking for a drive on the 2010 grid and, fortunately, he found one after his raw speed and potential caught the eye of Sauber. Confirmation of his move to the team arrived in December 2009. His first year with the Swiss outfit was certainly an exciting one, as we got our first true glimpses of his aggressive and exciting driving style.
We got to see this at the Japanese Grand Prix late in the year. He had qualified in a lowly 14th place for his home race and the pressure was on to make progress through the field. However, he didn’t crumble and completed some extremely brave overtakes to move up the order – with his favourite passing spot being the turn 11 hairpin.
Yes, there was some contact but he didn’t take anyone out, he made the move stick and he went for the gap. Sometimes, I feel we need to see more drivers like him on the grid. He takes risks and whilst it doesn’t always pay off, it makes for some fantastic racing. 2010 was a bit of a messy season for Kobayashi but he still scored points on eight occasions, sometimes – in my view – outperforming the car.
As his driving style matured, the top 10 results started to become more and more frequent – although this was also helped by the Sauber team providing him with good midfield cars for the following two seasons. He, finally, scored his debut podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix and it was on merit. He qualified well and had strong race pace throughout to finish ahead of both McLaren cars and just four seconds behind Felipe Massa's Ferrari.
Unfortunately he failed to retain his seat at Sauber for the 2013 season, as the team chose to replace him with the highly-rated Nico Hulkenberg. For the second time in his short F1 career, he was left searching for a race seat. Unfortunately this time, he wasn’t so lucky and he was forced to spend a year racing in the World Endurance Championship with AF Corse.
 |
| © Caterham F1 Team |
However, Kobayashi is back in F1 this year after finding a seat for 2014. The 27-year-old has joined the Caterham outfit and will partner Swedish rookie Marcus Ericsson. Can the team move into the midfield and make progress up the grid? Who knows, it is far too early to say.
He made his debut in the 'green machine' at the first winter test of the season in Jerez. "For me, it was good to be back in an F1 car and to be working with a team that I’m already feeling very happy with," he said.
I'm certainly pleased to see Kobayashi return to F1 and I'm excited to see what he can achieve this year. What do you think? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
1 comment:
Japanese F1 racer initially marked his comeback in the history of Formula One this 2014 through Caterham. Kobayashi was in car #10, CT05, Japan’s F1 samurai and Caterham’s 'green machine' was at the first winter test of the season in Jerez. It’s good to have Kobayashi back in the racetrack and to be with a new team that has the capacity to push hard and reach peak performance in this year’s F1 races. It’s a tough job but, very much possible.
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