Kobayashi: Caterham's new dream chaser

Not many people would turn their back on Ferrari to drive Caterham's Formula 1 car, but Kamui Kobayashi has been anything but conventional since he burst onto the F1 scene in 2009.

He spent three-and-a-bit seasons building a reputation as a demon late braker and master overtaker. Recall his decisive moves on Sebastien Buemi and Fernando Alonso to finish seventh in the 2010 European Grand Prix at Valencia, or passing a sequence of rivals including Sauber team-mate Nick Heidfeld, Buemi, Jaime Alguersuari (twice!), Adrian Sutil and Rubens Barrichello to finish seventh again in front of his home fans in Japan.

Fitting, because that's where Kobayashi's F1 story began in earnest. In truth, he looked headed for the single-seater scrapheap until Toyota's Timo Glock injured his leg during practice for the 2009 Suzuka race. Kobayashi grabbed the opportunity to prove himself with both hands. He finished just outside the points on his race debut in Brazil (ending up ninth), but beat experienced team-mate Jarno Trulli to a top-six finish in the Abu Dhabi finale.

That was Toyota's final race in F1, leaving Kobayashi without a drive for the following season, but Peter Sauber's team (now firmly back in the hands of the Swiss following BMW's withdrawal) picked him up to be the young charger to Spanish veteran Pedro de la Rosa's experienced old-hand.

He undoubtedly made his mark, but progress over the next two seasons was disappointing, as Kobayashi struggled to assert himself over rookie team-mate Sergio Perez. The Japanese scored a podium (again in Japan) and a front-row start at Spa (scene of Romain Grosjean's crash-tastic nadir) in 2012, but was dropped by Sauber at the end of the year - partly because the team signed superstar-in-the-making Nico Hulkenberg, and also because the Japanese needed to find €15 million to keep Telmex favourite Esteban Gutierrez out of the other seat in the wake of Sergio Perez's departure to McLaren.

Kobayashi is determined to help Caterham move forward... © LAT

Efforts to secure funding through a fan-based initiative fell well short, so Kobayashi found himself washed up on the shore by F1's prevailing tide of 'pay drivers'. But along came Ferrari with a career lifeline to throw his way.

Having secured a paid GT drive in the World Endurance Championship, it seemed as though Kobayashi was set to establish himself among the litany of F1 drivers turning to sportscars to save careers that would otherwise end too soon.

But not Kamui. He's not done with F1 yet, so he's traded in a deal with one of the world's most famous manufacturers in order to spend money (to the tune of a few million dollars) on racing for one of F1's smallest teams.

"It's a Formula 1 drive, you know - if I get a chance I need to try," he explains. "I think what this decision is... if I stayed at Ferrari I could be longer there, I could easily make money.

"It's not really hard driver-wise, I can see a lot of reasons, but I want to be challenging myself. People say I'm stupid. I'm 27 years old - 28 this year - and I'm thinking like a child."

So how did you break the news to Ferrari, Kamui? "I said, 'I'm sorry'. That's the only thing I had to say. The Ferrari guys said, 'You're stupid'. I know I'm stupid, but I have to do it. It's a very nice offer, and I enjoyed racing with Ferrari of course, but I need to race in F1. This is my dream, and this may be my last chance to get back, so this is my decision."

Mika Salo once said that giving up victory to Eddie Irvine in the 1999 German Grand Prix ultimately saved his career, because although he finished his time in F1 without winning a race, the GT opportunities this sacrifice led to with Ferrari more than made up for it. But settling for less is not the Kobayashi way - he'd rather take the risk, chase the dream and see where it leads...

"It's my dream and I'm very lucky. I have a lot of fans and I have a lot of money from the fans, and finally I get this seat with fan money, which is a new story," he says. "The story is like a movie, but it actually gets to happen for me! That's why I try more to communicate with the fans. Maybe this can be a new style of how to be in Formula 1? Everyone is struggling to get sponsors, many cars are without sponsor logos - McLaren even - but still they're spending so much money.

"I thought, 'Maybe I need to find a different way?' We have the YouTube channel 'Kamui TV'. Usually we only did race reports on that, but now we are doing factory tours, behind the scenes, Q&As, maybe we invite some guests and talk. I do it myself, which is funny. This is a different way, for me, to promote motorsport."

...after turning his back on Ferrari's factory GT programme © LAT

Although Kobayashi describes the Caterham drive as "the only chance I could get", he is determined to use his experience to help move the team up the grid. "I'm really happy, more than I expected than when I came to the factory," he adds. "I know the guys because many were Toyota guys. They can make progress and one day they can be a top team.

"It's the same as Red Bull. At the beginning, when they bought Jaguar, they were nowhere, but now they win championship after championship. You never know..."

Well, we know Caterham will not be challenging for the world championship anytime soon, so what are Kobayashi's short-term ambitions? "I need to win a race," he says bluntly.

With Caterham? "I don't know, but it's very important for me to get something this year. 'He did a mega job' - someone has to say that. Without success I will have to leave F1. This is very simple. I know why I'm here and I know what I have to do."

BOSS WON OVER BY KOBAYASHI'S 'SPARK'

Tony Fernandes has significantly overhauled the driving line-up at his Caterham team over the winter. Out have gone Charles Pic, Giedo van der Garde and Heikki Kovalainen, and in have come Kobayashi, GP2 race winner Marcus Ericsson and junior single-seater winning machine Robin Frijns (as reserve).

Fernandes hopes the Japanese will give his team a cutting edge as it fights to break away from the battle at the back, and challenge for a place in Formula 1's midfield.

"We thought Kamui would bring a little bit of a spark, that something you can't really quantify," says Fernandes. "Something that motivates 250 people to say, 'We've a chance now, we've a warrior who is going to go in there and do whatever to move this team up'.

"That drives people. Kamui was not really a financial consideration, although of course there were benefits - he's from Japan. But that wasn't the prime reason. The prime reason was we liked his warrior-like attitude.

"I finally made the decision when I saw him at [football club] QPR, of all places, and thought, 'There's something in his eyes'. He was hungry. I want everyone in this team to be hungry.

"I sit on the pitwall and I get bored seeing that we have to be conservative with no 'Let's go for it!' I feel Kamui brings that. It might be a disaster in some races, but I'd rather die trying than not try."

This week's AUTOSPORT magazine is the definitive 2014 Formula 1 season guide, featuring everything you need to know about its new era. You can also watch Kamui Kobayashi in a special pair of The Racer's Edge episodes - view the first part here, and the second here