Kamui Kobayashi

Kamui Kobayashi, born on 13 September 1986 in Amagasaki, Japan, was a fan favourite whose fearless overtaking made him one of the most exciting drivers of his era. He burst onto the Formula 1 scene late in 2009 as a replacement at Toyota, immediately catching the eye with audacious passing moves and a refusal to back down from wheel-to-wheel battles.

Kobayashi found his home at Sauber, racing for the Swiss team from 2010 to 2012. The high point of his career came at his home race, the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, where he finished third to claim his only podium in front of an ecstatic home crowd. After a season out of F1 in 2013, he returned with the Caterham team in 2014 for a final campaign. Across 76 starts he scored 1 podium, 1 fastest lap and 125 points.

Beyond Formula 1, Kobayashi built a hugely successful career in endurance racing with Toyota, becoming a cornerstone of their FIA World Endurance Championship effort. He won the WEC drivers' title and claimed overall victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and also set the outright lap record at Le Mans during qualifying. He has since taken on the role of team principal of Toyota's WEC squad while continuing to race.

Kobayashi was an instinctive, attacking racer whose bold overtaking and aggressive brake-late style won him admirers across the world, particularly in his native Japan, where he became a national sporting hero. Though his F1 results were constrained by midfield machinery, he proved his outright class in sports cars, becoming a Le Mans winner and world champion, and his legacy endures as both a thrilling racer and a leader of Toyota's endurance programme.