Kamui Kobayashi

[RAF]

Does Kobayashi deserve a top seat in F1?

If been a fan of his since his debut in Toyota this year, I was very disappointed at the start of this year when the Sauber car didn't live up to expectations. Now they've sorted whatever problems they had Kobi seems to be making mince meat out of every team mate he's up against (and half the field!)

He is also very entertaining...

thoughts?

[Robbobnob]

By top seat, i assume your are meaning with a championship leading team, such as Mclaren, Ferrari, Red-Bull etc.

IMHO, though Kamui has shown some exceptional talent of recent, he still needs another season with the likes of Sauber or Williams to prove he can consistently compete at the top level.

I say this, as being a Vettel fan boy since his TR days, i believe his race temperament has already cost him the championship, if not made it extremely hard on himself, and another season in a less competitive car would have benefited him.

Thats just my humble opinion though, because i do believe Kamui has some serious speed, not saying he would be the same as Seb either.

[PlatinumZealot]

Needs some more races against Heidfeld. Certainly the best of the rookies this year though. Not frighteningly quick but he has guts.

[Byronrhys]

He could use some time to cement his place in F1, look at Heikki, he got rushed into Mclaren when he could have used another year at Renault. If they lift the testing ban maybe they could do him like Massa and send him for a season to test at a big team like Mercedes, Mclaren, Ferrari(although they want Perez) or Redbull to just mature and get nurtured in a top team.

[deus1066]

He's not done enough yet for a 'top seat' though I'd say he's more deserving of a Renault seat then Petrov. It will be good to see him against Heidfeld for the next 3 races.

Another season in the midfield with Sauber where, if he can outclass his new rookie team mate, make few mistakes yet keep the edge that makes him so good to watch, then he'll be worth a top seat.

The biggest tragedy is that Heidfeld still doesn't have a seat for next year. Hopefully he'll replace Petrov at Renault, or maybe Trulli at the much more competitive Lotus team next year.

[RacingManiac]

I think its too early to say if he deserve a top seat, but he certainly have proved that the placing in the feeder series like GP2 does not tell the whole story about how good a driver is. He wasn't a stand out but you put him in an F1 car and he was making it dance....

That was the best race to watch this year, and Kamui was the reason for it.

And the guy also knows how to make Sushi, lol...

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I think its too early to say if he deserve a top seat,

He has shown more than any driver I can think of in recent years to deserve a top seat. He outdrove Trulli on Debut, Became Saubers main points winner and has finished ahead of his more experienced team mate Heidfeld twice now.
If I were Mercedes Ferrari McLaren or Red Bull and I had to find another driver, this guy would be a shoe in.

[RH1300S]

There is little doubt in my mind that he would use a 'top seat' very well.

With all due respect to Massa, I could see Kamui using that Ferrari to good effect. Certainly a Renault seat wouldn't look out place. I could even imagine he might use the Button McLaren better than Jense (I'm a bit of a Jense fan, but I think he has left some pace on the shelf this year - even allowing for some very clever drives).

[ESPImperium]

I think the fact that Toyota liked him alot shows me that he is a decent driver. He tested at Toyota from late 2006 till 2009, and altho didnt show pace then, he showed his pace in the GP2 Asia series 2008-2009 when he won it. The guy is a crazy racer, he is fast and soes have something about him. When he pulls off a overtake he has more Kamacazee about him than anythine else.

The fact that Tthe guys at Toyota decided to put him in Glocks seat at the end of 2009 shows me something, they thought that Glock was a more relyable racer, wasnt fast enough, and didnt take the car over its limits to get a better result, if Kimui was in the car at Singapore in 2009 i have a feeling that he could have closed the 2.7 or something seconds that Glock had to close Hamilton down last year. Could he have overtaken, not sure, but on the way he was at Singapore this year, id say posibly.

As said above, Kimui needs another year at Sauber and then i think he will be settled, posibly then he can get a seat with a better car, but by then i think that the better seats will be taken, fully. Id say that Kimui could be with Sauber for a while now, maybes a 3-5 year run with Perez, then the Sauber team can get a car that is honed to both their tallents and finally produce a car thats a world beater without the BMW investment this time.

[JotaBass]

I think he really deserves it but, which team could be interested in him? The second seat in RedBull will probably go to Buemi or Alguersuari; in Mercedes they have Rosberg and Schumi. Maybe Renault or Ferrari?

[ringo]

He's still a little rough around the edges. He has the spirit and the flashiness, the only thing i am concerned with is his qualifying consistency and his overall pace.
His overtaking is good when the car has the advantage as well, but it's a little rough as i said.
With 1 or 2 more years he will be deserving of a top seat. He's great but he aint prodigy great.

[tifoly013usa]

love his secret to overtaking in this interview.
http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews ... 11568.html

[RacingManiac]

lol @ Doraemon(Japanese Manga about a Robotic Cat from the future) reference....

[Caito]

He's well oriented for sure. In the interview he said his goal for next year was to make zero mistakes. He knows he's fast, now he has to avoid mistakes.

[RAF]

He is fast and that's all that matters. You can iron out mistakes with a fast driver. What you can't do is make a slow driver faster....