Kobayashi is uncertain about his future in F1
Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi spoke about his short and medium-term future in Formula 1 by explaining that he doesn't know what tomorrow holds. Even though he remains confident in Caterham, he doesn't refrain from exploring other options for next season.
The situation of Kamui Kobayashi is quite unclear at Caterham. For several races, and following his surprise replacement by André Lotterer at the Belgian Grand Prix, the Japanese driver is not guaranteed to race for the remainder of the season.
Before each race weekend, he is only informed late about his participation in the Grand Prix by his employer, as was the case again this week: « I called Colin Kolles on Tuesday, and he told me to come to Sochi. I immediately packed my things and came. »
However, Kobayashi had to give up his seat to young Roberto Merhi this Friday morning for the first free practice session, as had already been the case at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. But this doesn’t guarantee the Spanish driver the chance to participate in a race by the end of the season, as he stated on the sidelines of the Russian Grand Prix: “I will be participating in my third session this year. But I don’t know if it will give me the chance to participate in a race. It’s up to the team to decide. We’ll see.”
Despite everything, Kobayashi continues to believe in Caterham and in his future with the team, even if his situation for the end of the season and for next year are clearly not defined: « If I have the opportunity to stay with Caterham, I will seize it. But I also need to explore other options. »
Especially since Caterham’s current situation doesn’t really inspire confidence, as former Sauber driver points out: « Caterham is going through tough times. Nobody wants to see the situation develop this way. Let’s wait and see what happens next year. »
