F1 Fanatic

A Swiss publication reporting anonymous British sources on what’s going on within a Swiss team? Highly dubious, I’d say.

Kobayashi’s contract was only renewed four months ago. He bounced back – from what was admittedly a lacklustre second half the season – to score the points that kept Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructors’ championship.

Renault dropping Petrov with a year left on his contract is one thing, but it would be an astonishing volte-face if Sauber let Kobayashi go.

On a side note, I knew @Magnificent-Geoffrey was going to be the first replier!
Getting back to the thread, I doubt Kamui will not drive for Sauber next year. Their test driver Gutierrez has been confirmed at ART for GP2, so they would have probably to get Jules Bianchi (Ferrari-backed; Sauber use Ferrari engines) and have an all-young Ferrari development driver layout. Kamui has done enough to keep his seat IMO.

@Prisoner-Monkeys yeah, I think ART thought Bianchi would have been in F1 in 2012, because they have had a long-term partnership with him and I doubt they’d want to let him go in his third season in the series, when he’d have more chances of winning the title. Also, his manager is Nicolas Todt, team principal of ART. I was just saying that their first choice to replace one of their drivers, Gutierrez, already has a contract for GP2, so unless they sign someone else Kamui will remain.

Always keep in mind the performance of the car plays into results as well. Renault in 2011 is a perfect example of this. The fact that Perez also struggled tells me they hadn’t developed the car at the same pace as other teams, hence both he and Kobayashi slipping down the field later in the season.

I know I’m a bit biased being a Koby fan myself, but I’m with most others on this: they’d be stupid to drop him.

I think the only thing making this worth reacting on is the fact that it seems Peter Sauber actually writes a regular collumn for Blick.

Well, the Dutch guy who apparently published details of Grosjean and Lotus first seems to think that this rumour is potentially true (and by that I mean he thinks negotiations are happening, not that Kobayashi has already been replaced).

I don’t see it happening myself. Koba didn’t set the world on fire this year, true, but he’s a good driver who’s only really after his second season. Next season should be make or break up against Perez. I think Sauber would be making a mistake if they let him go.

Let’s not forget about Santander’s interests in Mexico; installing Bianchi in Kobayashi’s place would assist Banco Santander expand its interests in the Latin American market. Having Bianchi next to Perez would create a chance for Ferrari to examine and directly compare their young drivers in the wake of Felipe Massa’s inevitable departure from Scuderia Ferrari.

Furthermore, Kobayashi brings little sponsorship. I myself am a Kobayashi fan, but I see the reasoning behind this rumour; Ferrari were first trying to install Bianchi as a Force India third driver and they also pushed for him to land a Williams seat. They want Bianchi in F1 as soon as possible, and the fact that James Calado took his GP2 seat is indicative of this.

Also, Kobayashi has recently been criticizing the FIA for their mid-season rule change; perhaps this is an effort by him to prove that he could have done better (and therefore deserves to be retained) in the rule-affected Sauber.

In the unfortunate event that Kobayashi is dropped by Sauber, I hope Tony Fernandes recognizes Kobayashi as “Asian talent” and snatches him up. This would force STR to drop the mediocre Buemi in favour of Ricciardo (Alguersuari will not dropped because of the Cepsa sponsorship).

prisoner monkeys, no one will replace marko as the most unpopular person on f1