Kamui Kobayashi returned to the cockpit of a System 1 automobile for the primary time in additional than a decade immediately as he’s testing for Haas in France.
The Toyota World Endurance Championship workforce principal and driver began 75 grands prix between 2009 and 2014.
The check has come about as Toyota solid a technical partnership with Haas final yr. Below the deal Toyota is offering design and manufacturing providers to Haas whereas the F1 workforce is providing alternatives for Toyota’s junior drivers to run of their automobiles beneath the sequence’ Testing of Earlier Vehicles laws.
The producer has positioned its WEC driver Ryo Hirakawa on the workforce as a reserve driver. Hirakawa made his second of 4 deliberate appearances in apply classes for the workforce final week.
Kobayashi, 38, is driving for Haas on the Paul Ricard circuit, previously the house of the French Grand Prix. He made his F1 debut for Toyota’s works workforce on the finish of 2009.
Nonetheless Toyota withdrew from F1 on the finish of the season. Kobayashi was picked up by BMW Sauber the next yr. He achieved the latest podium end for a Japanese driver when he got here third for the workforce in 2012 (by which period it was once more competing as Sauber) at Suzuka.
After a yr out in 2013, Kobayashi returned to F1 with Caterham the next yr. That workforce bumped into monetary difficulties, nevertheless, and Kobayashi made his closing look in F1 after they bowed out of the sequence on the finish of 2014.
Since then he has loved a profitable profession in WEC, first as a driver and recently additionally as a workforce supervisor. He shared the WEC title and victory on the Le Mans 24 Hours with workforce mates Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway in 2021.
This text will likely be up to date.
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