Sauber backs young talent and bags Kobayashi

Peter Sauber has always been a big supporter of talented young drivers. And in his latest guise as a reluctant team owner - having taken back his team from BMW - he is backing his instincts and giving Kamui Kobayashi a drive for 2010.

It was announced today that Kobayashi will drive for BMW Sauber, as the team has not yet had its name changed.

Kobayashi made a big impression in his two Grands Prix at the end of the season, not having driven an F1 car for seven months when he got the call up from Toyota to replace Timo Glock.

He drove a tremendous race in Brazil, battling with Jenson Button and in Abu Dhabi he scored three points for sixth place. What was most impressive about his showing was that up to that point it had seemed that the 2009 generation cars were hard for rookie drivers to master, with Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean both struggling to get the most from their cars.

With no testing allowed either it was probably one of the most difficult times to come in to F1 as a rookie.

“I’m very much looking forward to working together with Kamui,” said Peter Sauber. “In the final two Grand Prix of last season he was granted an unexpected chance to show his skills, and he made impressive use of it. Particularly in the Abu Dhabi race he demonstrated not only that he can drive fast and aggressively, but also his ability to successfully implement a strategy. I am convinced he has a great deal of potential and will be able to make the most of it in our team.”

Kobayashi also seems to be a hit with the fans. Certainly this website has had a lot of positive comments about the 23 year old Japanese driver.