Kobayashi

[CocoUK]

Into his third season with Sauber, he has been quite the entertaining driver.
His single lap pace is slightly lacking but boy does he make up for it on Sundays, despite the introduction of DRS.
And how about that finish at Suzuka, a job well done, the crowd cheering his name must have been very humbling, special.


But I fear his time at Sauber will be coming to an end this season.

No official word of course but it strikes me that for 2013 Monisha will be attempting to satisfy the current Mexican sponsors, trialling a new up & coming driver and also securing some additional funds into the team for the imminent price hike in engines.
That could possibly point towards the Mexican reserve driver Esteban Guttierez being given a chance and also hiring Hulkenbergs bags of Euros.

Anybody else share this view?


So where will this leave Kamui?
Hulks seat at Force India?
Sennas seat at Williams?
Petrovs seat at Caterham?
Could he take over Alguersuari as the Pirelli driver?

Or as per his name sake...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJqKOb0ZhY

[DanDC5]

I think they'll keep him on to be honest, he's out-qualified Perez more times this season so his single lap pace is good. Even Monisha said on Sunday that he's been unlucky this year in races. He's been on a more sensible strategy a lot of the time due to his higher qualifying poistions while Perez has been on a more gamble strategy that have sometimes paid off well.

I think he's equal to Perez in ability to be honest, Sunday proved that, he just needs a bit more luck. It'd be a waste of talent for him to not be on the grid next year.

[StevieBee]

Kobayashi offers Japan something they've never previously had in F1 before, a driver fully capable of winning races, possibly even a championship and one with a fan-base beyond Japan.

He is an exceptionally 'bankable' driver and I do not foresee him without a decent drive anytime soon.

Personally, I see him in a Williams. He ticks a lot of their boxes and could open a lot financial doors that are rumoured to be unlocking in Japan over the coming years.

[DanDC5]

StevieBee said:

Kobayashi offers Japan something they've never previously had in F1 before, a driver fully capable of winning races, possibly even a championship and one with a fan-base beyond Japan.

He is an exceptionally 'bankable' driver and I do not foresee him without a decent drive anytime soon.

Personally, I see him in a Williams. He ticks a lot of their boxes and could open a lot financial doors that are rumoured to be unlocking in Japan over the coming years.

I'd agree with this. If Williams can turn up with a decent car again I think he'd fit in well there.

[Jungles]

The problem with Kobayashi is purely lack of personal sponsorship. He has the talent to compete for any mid-field team, but lacks personal sponsorship money to make himself really desirable.

All Japanese drivers have the same problem. They are not commercially marketable in any country outside of Japan. So they depend on Japanese sponsors. In Kobayashi's case, his only major sponsor has been Toyota, who are no longer involved in F1.

[Groober]

It would be a massive shame if he were to loose his seat, I think F1 would be worse off without him. I may be wrong but is he not the only Japanese driver to be in F1 on merit as oppose to having some sort of Japanese link, be it a Jap engine behind them or in a Jap team.

I just hope his podium encourages some Japanese companies to get behind him so we can see what he is really capaple of.

[rdjohn]

This is an excellent analysis of pay-driver evaluation.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/the-valu...

I think and hope that KOB will stay.

[CocoUK]

Doogz, both of course! To have a topic for discussion one should apply some substance.

It was this headline article on the Sky F1 webby that raised my eyebrow:
Conclusions from the Japanese GP'Kobayashi and Massa seal their 2013 drives'

While I held little doubt that Massa would be leaving this season, I was surprised to see Kobayashi regarded as having 'sealed his 2013 drive'. Especially as an interview with Monisha did not offer me the same impression, quite the opposite, as shared with others.

But I can’t quite picture 'where will this leave Kamui’ if he was to leave, hence asking the forum!

[furtive]

Valtteri Bottas at Williams could be a blocker to Kobayashi going there. I think he'll get Senna's seat.

Will the Mexican money not travel to McLaren with Perez?

[MrKipling43]

furtive said:

Valtteri Bottas at Williams could be a blocker to Kobayashi going there. I think he'll get Senna's seat.

Will the Mexican money not travel to McLaren with Perez?

Nope. Telmex have said they're sticking with Sauber.

[NISaxoVTR]

Is Kobayashi not living on past laurels? When he first arrived he displayed some forceful exciting racing (like Grojean, but a bit luckier) but I can't recall much of that this season. I think he has been well over shadowed by Perez in 2012. There have been plenty of oddball results this season, I think his podium in Japan will belong in that category rather than become a regular occurence.

[Crafty_]

furtive said:

Valtteri Bottas at Williams could be a blocker to Kobayashi going there. I think he'll get Senna's seat.

Will the Mexican money not travel to McLaren with Perez?

Telmax money will stay with Sauber to get Esteban Gutierrez in the car.

Kamui I think has raw speed but needs to add some racecraft. Suzuka showed he can do it when all the stars are aligned, so he now needs to be more adaptable so he still gets a result when they aren't.

50/50 if he stays or not. Sauber is a desirable mid field seat, the car is fast but they team are also reasonably secure, the same cannot be said of Force India (who knows how much longer they can last), Williams (car performance is inconsistent), even Lotus are allegedly on dodgy ground money wise.

I think Bottas deserves a seat to see what he can do, be a shame if he ended up another Gary Paffett. I think Senna can be quick but we haven't really seen consistency from him.

Has anyone figured out Pastor yet ? At the last race he and his management were letting it be known that he will be in F1 next year, but it may not be with Williams.. Either they are trying to use the media get a better deal out of Frank (won't work!) or he really does have options.. but where ? was he aiming at the Ferrari seat ? Maybe a Sauber seat ? Can't see it worth leaving Williams for anything else..

[CocoUK]

Kobayashi in need of a sponsor to stay in F1

Asked how he would feel if he loses his F1 seat next year, Kobayashi said: "This is destiny, no? If it happens like that we have to say 'this is Formula One'."

It will be a shame for him to leave F1 purely due to money, especially as it seems like he still has more to offer.

[C Lee Farquar]

Looking at his popularity, you would have thought a few million from a Jap car Company would be a fairly cheap investment.

[DanDC5]

C Lee Farquar said:

Looking at his popularity, you would have thought a few million from a Jap car Company would be a fairly cheap investment.

This is the thing, he's possibly the first Japanese driver ever to be marketable outside of Japan. He's hugely popular with the majority of fans, for any Japanese compay looking to become a bigger brand around the world or a company outside of Japan wanting to increse awareness there he's the perfect sponsorship opportunity either way.

[CurvaParabolica]

NISaxoVTR said:

I think he has been well over shadowed by Perez in 2012. There have been plenty of oddball results this season, I think his podium in Japan will belong in that category rather than become a regular occurence.

His podium wasn't that oddball; stong qualifying on Saturday, good race pace, looked after his tyres (mostly) and held-off Button. Ok, McL were having a bad weekend, but qualifying at Spa was just as good. However I do agree he's been overshadowed by Perez; it must bite a bit to see your younger team-mate come in and leave to go to a better team before you. That said he's my favourite F1 driver at the moment; I'd be gutted if he didn't get something, but if Hulkenberg is moving then FI may also be a possibility for him.

[anonymous-user]

I think Sauber will keep him, would be a bad move going into next season with 2 new to the team drivers. Saying that, once again i thought Lewis was staying at Mclaren so take what i say with a pinch of salt.

[DJRC]

Bedazzled said:

What does it say about the state of F1, if a good driver who is very popular with a lot of fans gets pushed out of the sport because he doesn't bring enough money to the table? Not to mention what it says about 'global' corporations if they won't sponsor him...

The same as its always done.

[CurvaParabolica]

Not looking to good for him; apparently Perez let slip that Esteban Gutierrez will be along side Nico next year Sauber are to confirm their line up at the weekend.

[Crafty_]

^^ That was a given as soon as Carlos Slim said he'd continue to sponsor the team provided Esteban got a seat.

Kamui needs to bring money, there are no paying seats left.. I suspect even Lotus are wanting someone in the 2nd seat who can add a few quid in the coffers.