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Kobayashi Oinions (18 posts)

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Faraz said 2 years, 1 month ago:

I want to know what people’s opinions of Kobayashi have recently been.
He had a decent qualifying in Melbourne but was the victim of his teams dis-qualification.
This weekend he qualified a respectable 10th and finished 7th after Lewis Hamilton got penalized.

Through out the race he had various scraps with faster cars (Red Bull, Mercedes,Renault).
I am a huge fan.

Could it be possible that he could end up replacing Massa at Ferrari especially with Sauber’s, Ferrari links. I would like to think so. What do you reckon?

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S.J.M said 2 years, 1 month ago:

He’s the kind of racer (not driver, racer) that will win fans AND draw new ones to the sport. He seems incredibly willing to take a chance of a pass when theres a whiff of one, great to watch. But he does it in a good way thats not reckless, i imagine he’s someone that you wouldnt mind him trying to overtake you because you know he’s less likley to take you both out.

I hope he gets a competitive seat in his career. He could be the best Japanese racer in F1 ever, if he’s not already.

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f1alex said 2 years, 1 month ago:

I think he’s brilliant! He kinda reminds me of Montoya (in a good way) as he really isn’t shy about having a go, and I think with a bit more experience, and a few less mistakes (he’s already shown he’s better on both these fronts so far this year) there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be able to join a quicker team.

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Magnificent Geoffrey said 2 years, 1 month ago:

Onions?

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Deleted User said 2 years, 1 month ago:

Right now not that high. He’s only paired with a rookie so it’s hard to tell how he’s doing. He’s never really had a strong team mate to rate him against. His qualifying last year could be dreadful and that was against de la Rosa, when Nick came back he was only a tenth off Kobayashi and that was in a new car and no testing. Now his qualifying seems ok but he only has Perez to compare against. His racing on a Sunday is good but maybe that’s partly because he starts lower than he should. He can work an unusual strategy though (Valencia 2010). His defending hasn’t been great in the last couple of races but he’s a good clean overtaker.

No he won’t go to Ferrari. Everyone except my granny has been linked with that Ferrari seat this weekend.

I do think he’s a very nice guy though!

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Ral said 2 years, 1 month ago:

Think he missed a “p” there in the title.

But yeah, I really like how he goes about his races and hope he gets a decent seat. Which, at the moment, doesn’t necessarily mean he would have to move to another team even.

[edit] Really Steph? I agree with you that he seems to make overtaking him not too difficult, but actually, I think that’s partly because he’s one of very few who play it safe with the whole “1 defensive move” thing. And it doesn’t penalise him as much as some other drivers, because he’s not afraid to have a go at taking the place right back again.

But playing it safe with that 1 move rule, also means he’s not putting other drivers at risk. Perhaps it means other drivers don’t mind overtaking him and that they don’t mind battling with him, because they know he will give them plenty of space to stay on track and make their moves.

I realise my opinion is based more on his racing than outright pace, but I think his pace is limited more by his car than anything at this point, although as you point out, that is perhaps hard to judge compared to his rookie team-mate. To say he wasn’t very impressive last year because Heidfeld managed to slot right in and be almost up to his speed straight away, is a bit unfair to him as well though. Because remember, Heidfeld was a member of that very same team and the car was designed while Heidfeld was in that team.

I realise that’s all conjecture, but so are any and all of our opinions ;)

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butterdori said 2 years, 1 month ago:

Second consecutive top 10 finish in a Sauber, looking good so far this season.

I loved his move on Schumacher today, the way he stabbed him on the back just when Michael thought that he successfully defended his position.

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Eggry said 2 years, 1 month ago:

He definitely hates susie. I’m not sure about onion.

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Fixy said 2 years, 1 month ago:

He is good, but he’s not on par with Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel. He qualifies decently, he races decently and attacks superbly. I think he’s better than Sutil and I don’t believe he will go to Ferrari.

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Ned Flanders said 2 years, 1 month ago:

I don’t like onions. I do, strangely, like cheese and onion flavoured crisps. As for Kobayashi’s taste for onions, we can only speculate.

I can also relate Kobayashi’s performances to an onion. Kobayashi is layered, like an onion. You never know what each layer (race) is going to be like, some can be good, some can be bad. Like onions, he makes you cry, either with joy from his brilliant banzai racing, or from sadness at his occasional poor performances. He also has a driving style that is as smooth as onion skin. And… er… if you so wish you can chop him up and put him in a pan, like onion

(Note to Keith- the Forum needs a title edit feature!)

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AndrewTanner said 2 years, 1 month ago:

Agreed with @ S.J.M – He does go for the overtake but does it in such a way that you don’t think he’s doing it and thinking about it later.

I think he gave as good as he got today, he had a few decent scraps but equally knew when he had to let someone through, clever guy.

I think it’s too early to link him with anywhere else, this sport, like any is all about consistency. By mid season, if he keeps this up I think there will be some serious rumours flying about. That’s not to say anything concrete will happen though ;)

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Faraz said 2 years, 1 month ago:

@ Ned Flanders that there is a classic post. Nice one.

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Solo said 2 years, 1 month ago:

Going to Ferrari won’t do him any good. He will go to Alonso’s team. I actually think his in a good position right now, his like the little leader at Sauber and the team seems to have a decent car. He also needs a little more time to build his experience.
Will Sauber ever build a frond running car though? Indeed that seems like a difficult thing to achieve but seeing as James Key this days seems to be the new magical man after Adrian Newey and Ros Brawn, if they ever had a chance to do it, it will be while this guy is working with them. They just need a little more money.

The guy really is a racer and knows how to fight on the track but we don’t know if he really has the pace(especially qualifying is a big question mark) to face the current two-three top drivers. He certainly has a decent pace since he could handle Heidfeld but how decent we don’t know. If he finds a chance to get a Ferrari,Mclaren,Red Bull seat but can’t win against the known suspects his career could take a downfall. If he believes he can take the challenge it’s still better to first supply himself with as much experience as he can so he can face them, so i think he needs this and at least another year with Sauber.
Personally i only see the Ferrari possibly having an empty seat but Alonso is the last guy you want to face even if you think you are faster because he plays games even outside the cockpit and especially at an environment like Ferrari’s that loves to throw all behind one driver.

If he thinks Sauber is a dead end then his best chance is looking to take a seat at Mercedes since Michael ain’t getting any younger and Rosberg is probably a little more possible to defeat than an Alonso, Vettel or Hamilton.

There is also Renault that may have a seat at some point but with the team changing owners and staff what future brings is a mystery. Mercedes are a more stable environment.

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Slr said 2 years, 1 month ago:

I think Kobayashi is great, he is quick and he’s very entertaining. I think Steph’s comments are pretty harsh. I also can’t understand why people think Kobayashi is a bad qualifier, last year he did go out in Q1 a few times, but every other time he either made it to Q3, or just missed out on it. That’s pretty good considering the pace of the Sauber last year.

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Deleted User said 2 years, 1 month ago:

I didn’t mean to be harsh about Kamui but I just don’t rate him that highly at least not yet. I don’t feel he’s anywhere near the top guys (yet). I think he has many good qualities- he’s leading the team well, he can overtake with the best of them and he can be flexible with strategies. Like many drivers though I find it really hard to judge his pace and so a move to a top team would be very premature.

Nick may have been part of Sauber before but coming back with zero testing in a new car is a huge task. However, Kamui probably has upped his game since last year and may be better at qualifying but how can I really judge or praise him when I can only compare him to Perez? If he blows him away then maybe. I’ve been cautious on making statements on Nico’s and Kubica’s pace last year for simialr reasons even though I felt they performed brilliantly generally.

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