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Yesterday in a statement on his official website, Caterham driver Kamui Kobayashi says he feels “very sorry for the fans” after Caterham confirmed they will skip the next two grands prix.
Following weeks of mudslinging between former owner Tony Fernandes and new Swiss-Middle Eastern backers, the Caterham team went into administration last week and revealed it will miss this weekend’s US GP and the one in Brazil.
Caterham are still hoping to return to the grid in Abu Dhabi, but in his statement on his official website, Kobayashi is considering his options. Kobayashi stated the following:-
‘Unfortunately, due to team’s situation, I will not able to race in United States GP and Brazilian GP.
‘I am very sorry for the fans looking forward those races. While I am carefully observing the situation, I will evaluate possibilities and make best choice for my future.’
I think many people would agree with Kobayashi here and that his thoughts are with the fans who follow him and the Caterham team who have been looking forward to seeing him race in the United States and Brazilian Grand Prix. And it is a shame that he will not see Kobayashi nor the Caterham team race for the next two races and hope that the situation within the team is resolved as quickly as possible.
It is clear that Kobayashi is keeping an eye on the situation surrounding Caterham at the moment and would like to be racing back with them if he can for the remainder of the season or for next year if its possible. But he is right to start looking at other options which are available to him at the moment and pick the option that he feels will be best for his career if things do not work out with Caterham.
Overall, it would appear that through no fault of his own that Kobayashi once again is in the position he was in last season and is having to re evaluate his options once again and decide which one is the best for him and his career in the long term future. You could argue that Kobayashi has made a mistake choosing Caterham over a deal with Ferrari in Endurance Racing this season (I personally myself believe he should have stayed with Ferrari) but the lure of coming back to Formula One was too strong for him and he could not have predicted what is happening with Caterham currently.
But until the situation with Caterham is resolved and he knows where he stands; all he can do is ensure that he has a back-up plan just in case things don’t work out as he would like them to. And let’s hope that Kobayashi has a range of options open to him that reflect his talent in a racing car.
