Kamui Kobayashi
Discussion
I think on the whole he did well. His move on Nakajima was not OK but no worse than Webber and Raikkonen on the first lap. If Toyota are in F1 next year, I can see no reason why they would not take him as a full time race driver. If Glock is OK for Abu Dhabi, I would be demoting Trulli to the sidelines after his little outburst and giving Kobayashi the drive. they have nothing to lose from it.
Well, he said "a bit crazy".
Think he's done the best job a rookie could hope for - a good showing, fought his corner, didn't roll over when the quick guys put the pressure on. He should get a seat next season, best rookie showing for a while.
He certainly wasn't scared of going side-by-side through Turn 2 and if he hadn't moved over on Nakajima I think that would have been a thoroughly impressive debut. Shouldn't have weaved, though (mind you Webber did the same to Kimi, just with less serious consequences).
Think he's done the best job a rookie could hope for - a good showing, fought his corner, didn't roll over when the quick guys put the pressure on. He should get a seat next season, best rookie showing for a while.
He certainly wasn't scared of going side-by-side through Turn 2 and if he hadn't moved over on Nakajima I think that would have been a thoroughly impressive debut. Shouldn't have weaved, though (mind you Webber did the same to Kimi, just with less serious consequences).
R360 said:
Think the guy did a great job, especially when compared to the other rookies. I am looking forward to seeing more of him next season, the guy has some balls!
Good point and makes Fisi's performances in a Ferrari look even more pathetic. How many laps in total including testing,qualifying and the races has he now spent in that car? The guy has been a major disapointment.I think that's screwed the chances of Glock being retained next year, a shame as I rate "Timmo" as the Jordan boys called him.
Kobayashi did a solid job. Not as quick as he could have been, he's clearly trying to take Jarnos place as the leader of the Trulli Train (the Kobayashi Convoy?) and he needs to have a word with himself with regard to blocking, he was a little naughty with JB and probably deserves a slap on the wrist for taking the Williams out. Solid performance though. Not sure how many miles he did over the winter but certainly did a good job in a difficult situation.
I don't think we should be comparing him to Fisi though. Giani has had a 'mare in the Ferrari but I get the feeling that car is a total hound to drive. The Toyota has a weeker engine and no KERS however it looks like it's got a decent, balanced chassis underneath it. Fisi just hasn't been able to get his head round the Fez at all.
Kobayashi did a solid job. Not as quick as he could have been, he's clearly trying to take Jarnos place as the leader of the Trulli Train (the Kobayashi Convoy?) and he needs to have a word with himself with regard to blocking, he was a little naughty with JB and probably deserves a slap on the wrist for taking the Williams out. Solid performance though. Not sure how many miles he did over the winter but certainly did a good job in a difficult situation.
I don't think we should be comparing him to Fisi though. Giani has had a 'mare in the Ferrari but I get the feeling that car is a total hound to drive. The Toyota has a weeker engine and no KERS however it looks like it's got a decent, balanced chassis underneath it. Fisi just hasn't been able to get his head round the Fez at all.
CampDavid said:
I think that's screwed the chances of Glock being retained next year, a shame as I rate "Timmo" as the Jordan boys called him.
Kobayashi did a solid job. Not as quick as he could have been, he's clearly trying to take Jarnos place as the leader of the Trulli Train (the Kobayashi Convoy?) and he needs to have a word with himself with regard to blocking, he was a little naughty with JB and probably deserves a slap on the wrist for taking the Williams out. Solid performance though. Not sure how many miles he did over the winter but certainly did a good job in a difficult situation.
I don't think we should be comparing him to Fisi though. Giani has had a 'mare in the Ferrari but I get the feeling that car is a total hound to drive. The Toyota has a weeker engine and no KERS however it looks like it's got a decent, balanced chassis underneath it. Fisi just hasn't been able to get his head round the Fez at all.
Looks at the facts - this kid has not been in that car since before the season started so has no idea of what changes have been since he last sat in it. Fisi has had more than enough time in that Ferrari to show improvements - this Kid jumps into a Toyota and shows Fisi how to drive a car that you may not be familier with.Kobayashi did a solid job. Not as quick as he could have been, he's clearly trying to take Jarnos place as the leader of the Trulli Train (the Kobayashi Convoy?) and he needs to have a word with himself with regard to blocking, he was a little naughty with JB and probably deserves a slap on the wrist for taking the Williams out. Solid performance though. Not sure how many miles he did over the winter but certainly did a good job in a difficult situation.
I don't think we should be comparing him to Fisi though. Giani has had a 'mare in the Ferrari but I get the feeling that car is a total hound to drive. The Toyota has a weeker engine and no KERS however it looks like it's got a decent, balanced chassis underneath it. Fisi just hasn't been able to get his head round the Fez at all.
Fisi has no excuses whatsoever
CampDavid said:
I don't think we should be comparing him to Fisi though. Giani has had a 'mare in the Ferrari but I get the feeling that car is a total hound to drive.
I'm sure Domenicali said as much in an interview. Okay, he didn't say "it's a total hound", but he said as close to that as a team manager could get away with. 
I was quite impressed with Kobayashi, but as others have said he needs to be careful about being defensive vs being dangerous.
In the delayed quali on saturday the director of Toyota F1 said they are talking to a couple of drivers about next year but will see how Kobayashi does in the race and I thought he did fantastic.
He was really racing from the off, not giving anyone respect like Grosjean and Alguesari do. He held off Button for a long time considering it was his first race, he was in a slower car and was running more fuel too. He was actually leaving Button at one point. I don't think he was too illegal with his moves with Button, I didn't see anything bad, I think it was more of a case of Button getting frustrated at not being able to get past.
I think they would be mad not to sign him and if Toyota don't, hopefully someone else will.
He was really racing from the off, not giving anyone respect like Grosjean and Alguesari do. He held off Button for a long time considering it was his first race, he was in a slower car and was running more fuel too. He was actually leaving Button at one point. I don't think he was too illegal with his moves with Button, I didn't see anything bad, I think it was more of a case of Button getting frustrated at not being able to get past.
I think they would be mad not to sign him and if Toyota don't, hopefully someone else will.
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