Kamui Kobayashi
1. Who is Kamui Kobayashi?
Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese pilot, born September 13, 1986 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture. He currently competes in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.
Kamui Kobayashi with Toyota Gazoo Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Kamui Kobayashi with Toyota Gazoo Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans © DPPI
2. Kamui Kobayashi’s Formula 1 journey
That same year, Kamui Kobayashi will make his debut in Formula 1. Toyota calls on the Japanese driver to replace Timo Glock, who was ill and had an accident in qualifying, at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix. Except that since he did not ride during the practice sessions, Kamui Kobayashi is not allowed to start the race. He must therefore wait for the next race in Brazil to shine in Formula 1. Qualified in 13th position, the Japanese hangs on with Kazuki Nakajima and resists the attacks of Jenson Button. The Briton will claim that the Toyota driver is completely crazy and very aggressive. Characteristics that will follow him throughout his entire career. Kamui Kobayashi finished the championship in 18th place after the three points scored in Abu Dhabi.
After Toyota's withdrawal from Formula 1, he joined the BMW Sauber team for three seasons. For his first year, the Japanese plays alongside Pedro de la Rosa. The reliability of his car does not allow him to be competitive with 5 retirements in the first 6 Grands Prix. At the Turkish Grand Prix, the Japanese scored his first point of the season, but he achieved his best performance of the season at Silverstone. In the 2010 British Grand Prix, the Japanese driver finished in 6th place ahead of Sebastian Vettel or Michael Schumacher. At the end of his first full season in Formula 1, the Japanese finished in 12th place ahead of his teammate.
Kamui Kobayashi's only Formula 1 podium at the 2020 Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit. © DPPI
For his second season at Sauber, he finds Sergio Pérez at his side. The Japanese started with a good series of results with 6 consecutive points finishes. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Kamui Kobayashi obtained his best career result with a 5th place. In front of his home crowd, the Japanese hoped to achieve a good performance, but the anti-stall system of his car activated and he went from 7th place on the grid to 12th at the end of the first lap. As in 2010, the Japanese finished in 12th position in the drivers' standings.
Kamui Kobayashi will have to wait a year before achieving the best performance of his career in Formula 1. At the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, he managed to grab 3rd place and became the third Japanese to reach a podium in Formula 1. That same year , the Japanese driver also obtained his first best race time with Sauber at the Chinese Grand Prix. With a new 12th place in the drivers' standings, Kamui Kobayashi was not retained by Sauber and therefore turned to Endurance for the first time.
After a year of absence, Kamui Kobayashi returned to Formula 1 with Caterham in 2014. But his experience did not go as planned. With a poorly designed and unreliable car, the Japanese was unable to score a single point with his best result being limited to 13th place in Malaysia and Monaco.
After the bankruptcy of his team, the Japanese driver will remain in single-seaters, but will turn to the Super Formula championship. Engaged for two seasons with Team LeMans, he scored three podiums in 2015 and finished in 5th place. His second season is more complicated with only 1 point on the clock. Kamui Kobayashi subsequently decided to join KC Motorgroup and participated each year in certain rounds of the Super Formula calendar.
3. Kamui Kobayashi’s Endurance Course
Kamui Kobayashi begins his career change in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship with the Italian team AF Corse in the GTE Pro category. For his first season, he took 2nd place at the 6 Hours of Silverstone and three other 3rd positions at Spa-Francorchamps, Austin and Bahrain. With Olivier Beretta and Toni Vilander, Kamui Kobayashi finishes the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 5th position in GTE Pro
After a one-year stint at Caterham, he became a reserve driver at Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2015. But the Japanese will have to wait a year before making his debut in LMP1. Alexander Wurz's retirement allows him to join Mike Conway and Stéphane Sarrazin at the wheel of the Toyota TS050 Hybrid within Toyota Gazoo Racing. A choice that will pay off from the first season with a first victory in Endurance during the 6 Hours of Fuji in 2016. With five other podiums on the clock, Kamui Kobayashi ranks 3rd in his first Endurance championship.
Kamui Kobayashi winner of the 24 2021 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota Gazoo Racing alongside Mike Conway and José Maria Lopez. © DPPI
The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver will have a difficult 2017 season marked by a retirement from the 24 Hours of Le Mans after 9 hours of racing while the No. 7 Toyota was in the lead with the Japanese at the controls. A clutch and gearbox problem forced Toyota to return to the garage for good. With only 3 podiums, the trio of the No. 7 Toyota finished 5th at the end of the season.
The following season, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and José Maria Lopez will find themselves in battle with the other Toyota Gazoo Racing trio composed of Kazuki Nakajima, Fernando Alonso and Sébastien Buemi. With his team, the Japanese will win at Fuji and Shanghai, but must be content with second place at Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans and Sebring. At the 24 2019 Hours of Le Mans, despite the Japanese's best qualifying lap, the No. 8 Toyota won at the end of the event.
The trio of the No. 7 Toyota will ultimately have to wait until the 2019-2020 season to win the first LMP1 world endurance championship title in the premier category. A success that the three drivers owe to their victories at Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Bahrain on two occasions.
Alongside this victorious season in Endurance, the Japanese will set out to conquer the IMSA championship. Entered in the 24 Hours of Daytona alongside Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor and Fernando Alonso, the native of Amagasaki will triumph two years in a row with Konica Minolta Cadillac. His two successes remain the only ones on the Japanese record in IMSA.
In 2021, the outcome of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be more favorable for the drivers of the No. 7 Toyota who takes first place for the first time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the end of the season, the Japanese driver retained his title of Endurance World Champion. In 2022, Kamui Kobayashi and Toyota Gazoo Racing have chosen stability by keeping the same trio of drivers. In addition, the Japanese and Kazuki Nakajima have inherited management roles within Toyota Gazoo Racing. An expert in achieving pole position, the Japanese driver still holds the circuit record since 2017 with a lap of 3'14”791.
4. AUTOhebdo's opinion on Kamui Kobayashi
Since 2022, in addition to his driver's hat, Kamui Kobayashi has also become team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing. This new responsibility clearly shows his importance within the Japanese team and confirms that he is the strong man of the No. 7 Toyota.
A true expert in qualifying, the Japanese often manages to put his team in the right position for victory. But like Jenson Button's comments in Formula 1, the Japanese's aggressiveness and madness can ruin his races and those of the competition in places.
5. Learn more about Kamui Kobayashi
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