Kobayashi on his F1 breakthrough
Kamui Kobayashi has gone from struggling GP2 driver to Formula 1 fan favourite in little over a year. The Sauber driver looked back on his remarkable progress with Adam Cooper
As of the morning of Friday October 2 2009 Kamui Kobayashi was a GP2 driver with a solid but unspectacular record, a man who had done little to suggest that he had any future in grand prix racing. He'd always been a step behind fellow Toyota protege Kazuki Nakajima, who'd been given a push into Formula 1 as part of the Williams engine supply deal.
Any thoughts Kobayashi might have entertained about following his old rival to the top level were set to be dashed, since well before the end of the season the Toyota management had taken the decision to pull out. There would be no works team and no Williams deal in 2010, and thus very little prospect of Nakajima getting a drive, never mind total rookie Kobayashi.
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