[Hmwmzian]

A very exciting driver but a bit too early to say how far he could go.

Both him and Pedro had a dodgy start to the season, mostly due to the car, but since the 2nd 1/3 of the season, Koby has been clearly the better of the pair and the points reflect this.

Sato was a fun driver but always a little too "on the edge" to qualify his credentials for my liking. Saying that, he looked more mature at SA after being demoted (or was that promoted) from the Honda team.

With Koby, he does look a little better prepared and IMHO deserves a chance with a good mid field team. I don't know about Renault because they seem to be so focused on Kube as the Alonso replacement.

Time will tell but I'm interested in seeing more of the young man.

[paypaltoegold1]

I think it is a matter of time until a champion driver emerges from Japan. They have a thriving motor racing environment and the Formula Nippon cars are not only extremely pretty but produces great racing.

There have been too many Japanese drivers who have been rushed into F1, funded too much on nationality and not enough on substance.

That is the problem.

Since the mid-1990s, there has been Katayama(5 points), Takagi, Nakano (2 points), K.Nakajima (9 points), Yamamoto, Ide, Inoue. Then Sato and Kobayashi who actually seem(ed) decent.

Having said that, Sato's IndyCar season is an absolute crashfest.

[Poll Pitt]

I think Aguri Suzuki managed a podium in 1990.

At Suzuka in a Larrousse Lamborghini, no less.

I would definitely disagree that Kam-wee is the best Japan has produced. That honor remains with Takuma Sato.

He was British f3 champion, he won Macau f3 and the f3 masters. He remains the only Japanese driver to have finished on the f1 podium and of you look at his f1 performance in 2004 it was damn excellent, qualifying in the first 7 most of the season and even 2nd at one race.

The 2004 BAR was the second best car for the entire year in 2004, you can't say achieving one podium with that car while his teammate scored 10 is excellent at all.

[asSexate]

At Suzuka in a Larrousse Lamborghini, no less.

Leg end!

[Todilrdc]

He impressed almost all of us last season . Pushing the-not-so-good Toyota car to its limits . This year , Sauber team looking no good form . The car didn't deliver as much as mid-field car did . If only Toyota didn't quit Formula One . He would have battle for the championship this season . I just look at the Toyata 2010 f1 car , it's one extreme design of any formula car that i have seen . All and all , I'm hoping that the top teams will take him in the near future . I want to see different nation to take the crown .

Future champion anyone ?

Yep! absolutely! Had Toyota remained in F1, this guy would be fighting Red Bul and McLaren and Ferrari for the championship already. SUCH IS LIFE

[Sarbrienna]

Kobayashi is Sato's brother !!

[Poothevokprot]

Kobayashi is Sato's brother !!

I'll take a note on that !

[D6Ri5u13]

They have a thriving motor racing environment and the Formula Nippon cars are not only extremely pretty but produces great racing.

Drivers like Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen are also products of the Japanese racing series as they raced there and won and it did them a world of good - and they loved the place. Delicious healthy food, lovely women and such nice cultured people too.

There's good money but the competition isn't really what I'd call top class.

Aguri Suzuki told Sato to move to Europe that was where you refine your talent and prove yourself. Sato moved to England had to learn English and lived with an English family. That paved the way for the likes of Kobay and Nakajimas.

[denyffishh]

There's good money but the competition isn't really what I'd call top class.

Aguri Suzuki told Sato to move to Europe that was where you refine your talent and prove yourself. Sato moved to England had to learn English and lived with an English family. That paved the way for the likes of Kobay and Nakajimas.

I still like nakajima and thought that he was a decent F1 driver.

[popillio]

In a word: no.

[asSexate]

In a word: no.

Homer has spoken!

[popillio]

I suppose I should explain...he has a lot of talent for sure but so have many others in below par cars - i'm thinking the likes of Alesi. Also, while he's young, so too are Vettel and Hamilton who IMO are vastly superior drivers, with others such as Rosberg and Kubica also better and likely to be in F1 for at least the next 8-10 years.

That said I hope he does get a better car to drive so we can get more of an idea of his true pace. But i'd say certainly the most promising Japanese F1 driver since Nakajima-san

[UHlVExs7]

Koba's been retained by Sauber for the 2011 season

[M1zdL0hh]

Kobayashi for me is the best Japanese F1 driver yet, nothing to do with what drivers did in F3, GP2, etc.

His raw talent is exceptional if you ask me, and he does have a chance of being a future champion if he can tone down some of his erratic driving. But I think he has already begun to do so. I think his quality of passing is excellent at such a young age, arguably only Hamilton has better wheel-to-wheel skills.

I don't see Sato as the previous best. He was comically erratic and at times, dangerous. One podium with a very good BAR car in 2004 wasn't much.

I would say Ukyo Katayama was the best Japanese driver so far, but Kobayashi should take that honour from him.

[vvxtiopmx]

It's good news that he has a cockpit secured for 2011, although I was hoping it would be a better seat than the Sauber (or whatever may become of that team).

[D6Ri5u13]

Kobayashi for me is the best Japanese F1 driver yet, nothing to do with what drivers did in F3, GP2, etc.

His raw talent is exceptional if you ask me, and he does have a chance of being a future champion if he can tone down some of his erratic driving. But I think he has already begun to do so. I think his quality of passing is excellent at such a young age, arguably only Hamilton has better wheel-to-wheel skills.

I don't see Sato as the previous best. He was comically erratic and at times, dangerous. One podium with a very good BAR car in 2004 wasn't much.

I would say Ukyo Katayama was the best Japanese driver so far, but Kobayashi should take that honour from him.

Raw talent? Sorry, but Sato had that in spades. He lit up the Brit racing at the turn of the century. I'll never forget him dicing for lead positions in year old machinery in F3. So much buzz created around him in F3.

Simple case of not underperforming in F1, not refining his driving style and setting the car up, etc.

I've got soft spot for Taku. He blew hot and cold in F1. When he was bad, he as crashing left, right and centre but there were some great and magical moments. His podium drive at Indy was brilliant and pulled a great move on DC but it was at Super Aguri where he truly excelled when he was given a life line: stonking starts and leading a train of cars, grabbed a couple of points and after starting off as a joke team he grabbed a 10th place finish in Brazil 2006

[asSexate]

Kobayashi for me is the best Japanese F1 driver yet, nothing to do with what drivers did in F3, GP2, etc.

His raw talent is exceptional if you ask me, and he does have a chance of being a future champion if he can tone down some of his erratic driving. But I think he has already begun to do so. I think his quality of passing is excellent at such a young age, arguably only Hamilton has better wheel-to-wheel skills.

I don't see Sato as the previous best. He was comically erratic and at times, dangerous. One podium with a very good BAR car in 2004 wasn't much.

I would say Ukyo Katayama was the best Japanese driver so far, but Kobayashi should take that honour from him.

I'm on board with that. Was it '94 with the Yamaha in the back of uncle Ken's cars? He had some cracking races - I'm thinking hockenheim as a stand out performance.

It did all seem to fizzle out after that but that was much more a case of bad cars rather than any lack of talent.

[Todilrdc]

Now, if only Hamilton went to Ferrari to replace Massa, and Koba went to McLaren to partner Bunsen, we'd have deja vu.

[drugimpotence]

At Suzuka in a Larrousse Lamborghini, no less.




The 2004 BAR was the second best car for the entire year in 2004, you can't say achieving one podium with that car while his teammate scored 10 is excellent at all.

That's what I wanted to say. However, I think Sato did mature during the Super Aguri years, I personally believe those were the peak of his F1 career. He was fast compared to Davidson and made very few mistakes. I don't know what is happening to him this year though. At Kentucky this weekend, he spun on the second lap all by himself, and it was his 9th crash of the season. He seemed embarassed in the interview.

[sleepergun]

That's what I wanted to say. However, I think Sato did mature during the Super Aguri years, I personally believe those were the peak of his F1 career. He was fast compared to Davidson and made very few mistakes. I don't know what is happening to him this year though. At Kentucky this weekend, he spun on the second lap all by himself, and it was his 9th crash of the season. He seemed embarassed in the interview.

Ya know, if he was just crashing on ovals I could understand that - he's a rookie on ovals. But based on his time in F1, I expected him to be MUCH better than he's been on roads/streets. He's shown to be quite fast at times, on ovals and road courses - but only when he's out there by himself. I think he nearly wrecked The Princess during qualifying or a practice session at Kentucky, didn't he? By the basic stats and going off the words of Mike Conway, the current IRL car is quite similar to the current GP2 car in terms of handling and hp/weight ratio. So I'm really surprised at how bad Sato has been this year. He's making Shiggy "The Human Wrecking Ball" Hattori look like a hot shoe. In F1 he was anything but consistent. But he wasn't comically bad... and right now he is. And yes, during interviews after his (many) crashes, he never seems to know what really happened. He looks like a deer caught in the headlights. I think he even crashed into the maid on his way out of the hotel the morning of the race.

I really hope that Kamui continues to develop and get better. He could go all to hell next season. But I hope he gets some support and his confidence level increases. I don't know about winning a WDC, but I think he can be pretty darn good. If Sato was running in CART instead of the IRL, they would have put him on probation or yanked his license by now, just as they did with Shiggy in '99. Kamui seems to have a better handle on the balance between aggression and patience. Now he just needs to build on that.