Kamui Kobayashi
Kamui Kobayashi (born 13 September 1986 in Amagasaki, Japan) is a Japanese racing driver most famous for driving in Formula One.
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Early career
Kobayashi began his motorsport career in karting in 1996 at the age of nine. Several years of success saw Kobayashi become a part of Toyota's driver academy, which provided the young driver with funding through the open-wheel ladder - eventually leading to him racing in GP2 for DAMS in 2008.
Formula One
Two strong years in GP2 saw Kobayashi sign for 2009 Constructors championship runners-up BMW Sauber F1 Team for the 2010 Formula One season, replacing outgoing driver’s champion Daniel Melrose alongside Dave Simpson.
Kobayashi made his Formula One debut at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, qualifying for the opening race in a modest 18th place. However, Kobayashi would go on to produce an opportunistic drive in the opening race of the season and take an excellent 5th place on the track, which would be then promoted to 4th place following a 20-second time penalty for McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. The second race of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend was not as fortunate for Kobayashi, seeing him retire out of the race with engine failure.
Detroit Incident
Kobayashi’s next (and final) Formula One outing was the 2010 United States Grand Prix, held on the infamous Belle Isle Raceway in Detroit, Michigan.
Kobayashi followed up his disappointing qualification in Bahrain by setting a time worthy of 19th place for the opening race, but again had a decent start in the race. Early in the Grand Prix, AT&T Williams driver Rubens Barrichello suffered a broken front wing, causing him to drop several positions on track. Barrichello moved into the path of the speeding Kobayashi whom was forced to lift off in order to avoid a collision, but the Japanese driver left nowhere for the USF1 of T. Hemo Goblin to go – leading him to plow into the rear of Kobayashi’s Sauber.
Kobayashi was immediately taken to the local medical facility with a broken tail bone, severe nerve damage and a major concussion. Doctors at the facility soon announced that Kobayashi was in a stable condition, but also tentatively announced the assumption that Kobayashi would not be seen in F1 again.
The second Formula One race of the meeting continued despite Kobayashi’s injury, with Christian Klien replacing him in the BMW Sauber. Rubens Barrichello was excluded from both United States Grand Prix races as well as picking up a ban for the following Japanese Grand Prix.
The Detroit Belle Isle Raceway would remain on the Formula One calendar for only one more season, being replaced by Barber Motorsports Park in 2011 following concerns about the circuit’s safety.
Later career
Kobayashi recovered from his injuries but was no longer in any state to continue racing, announcing his retirement from motorsport in late 2010. However, in 2017 he initially accepted an offer from Toyota to race in the Le Mans Cup, but the series collapsed before he could make his return.
Kobayashi eventually made his return to motorsport driving a Toyota for Team LeMans in the 2019 Pacific Endurance Series season, followed by a long-awaited return to open-wheel racing with Kondo Racing in the 2020 Super Formula season.
Complete Formula One Grand Prix results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | BMW Sauber F1 Team | Sauber C29 | BMW P86/9 2.4 V8 | BHR 1 4 |
BHR 2 Ret |
USA 1 Ret |
USA 2 INJ |
JPN 1 INJ |
JPN 2 INJ |
AUS 1 INJ |
AUS 2 INJ |
TUR 1 INJ |
TUR 2 INJ |
EUR 1 INJ |
EUR 2 INJ |
MON 1 INJ |
MON 2 INJ |
GBR 1 INJ |
GBR 2 INJ |
IRE 1 INJ |
IRE 2 INJ |
GER 1 INJ |
GER 2 INJ |
ESP 1 INJ |
ESP 2 INJ |
ITA 1 INJ |
ITA 2 INJ |
HUN 1 INJ |
HUN 2 INJ |
SIN 1 INJ |
SIN 2 INJ |
KOR 1 INJ |
KOR 2 INJ |
BRA 1 INJ |
BRA 2 INJ |
URU 1 INJ |
URU 2 INJ |
ABU 1 INJ |
ABU 2 INJ |
26th | 12 |
Complete Super Formula Results
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Kondo Racing with North Star | Dallara SF19 | Toyota RI4B | FUJ 18 |
AUT 19 |
SUG 16 |
MOT 16 |
OKA 14 |
CHA 13 |
SEP 19 |
SUZ 13 |
26th | 0 |
