In what might be the most pleasing bit of news of the off-season so far, Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi has agreed a deal to race for the Sauber-Ferrari outfit in 2010.
Peter Sauber, who recently agreed a deal to buy his old team back from BMW only 4 years after selling it to them, has something of a reputation for spotting talent. He gave Formula One debuts to Karl Wendlinger, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, as well as taking on Nick Heidfeld after his disastrous first year with Prost in 2000. Whether he or anyone else would have spotted this particular talent any time before October is open to debate, since a successful career in the junior categories had well and truly stalled out in GP2. It could be argued that Kobayashi didn’t have the equipment to truly shine – even in a one-make series preparation can make the difference, and his DAMS team’s glory days passed in the mid 1990s – but throughout 2009 he was outpaced by teammate Jerome d’Ambrosio, nobody’s idea of the next big thing, on his way to 16th in the final standings.
Timo Glock’s misfortune, crashing at Suzuka and cracking a vertebra, was Kobayashi’s salvation. The Toyota test driver was thrust into the spotlight, and coped magnificently, holding off champion-elect Jenson Button for half the race on his debut in Brazil before decisively seeing off the Englishman at the new Yas Marina track two weeks later. His performance in Abu Dhabi, taking 6th place ahead of his veteran teammate Jarno Trulli having looked good for a podium at one stage, further enhanced a reputation that had taken a beating through the rest of the year, and a 2010 race seat with Toyota looked certain. Then the Japanese team withdrew, The End.
Without the funding to carry on for another year in GP2, it really could have been curtains for Kamui. Without those two end-of-season drives, without that opportunity to impress, Kobayashi would have been a GP2 reject left marooned by the Toyota pull-out. Thanks to those two drives, he’s a star in the making. His career has turned on a single stroke of luck, but has he ever made the most of it. Afraid of nobody and willing to go wheel-to-wheel with all comers, Kobayashi’s brief F1 stint has been a breath of fresh air, and it is to be hoped that these qualities will remain in evidence through 2010 and beyond.
