This weekend, DAMS raced in the sixth round of the 2009 GP2 Series Championship on the Hungaroring in Hungary. The very twisty, dusty circuit was a different kettle of fish to the Nürburgring 2 weeks earlier.
Jérôme d’Ambrosio and Kamui Kobayashi tried to take up the challenge, but their weekend was compromised by poor qualifying performances. In addition, the Belgian driver suffered electrical glitches affecting gear selection throughout the meeting, a recurrent handicap that led to his retirement in the second race.
The team is going back to Le Mans after a scoreless weekend, and its aim is to carry out an in-depth examination of the reasons for this lack of performance, and then to modify its approach according to the lessons learned. The next round will take place on the Valencia circuit in 4 weeks.
Kamui Kobayashi
Race 1: 21st on the grid, 13th at the finish
Race 2: 13th on the grid, 8th at the finish
“There’s not really a lot to be said. Qualifying went off badly and this handicapped me throughout the weekend. On a circuit where overtaking is virtually impossible, an out-of-sync strategy helped me to gain a good few places in the first race, but not enough to score points. It was the same story on Sunday in the short race in which I managed to pass five cars. When we start from the top end of the grid, we can score points, so we’ve got to concentrate on out-and-out speed on Friday.” Kamui said.
Kamui Kobayashi will again take the role of Toyota test driver while also competing in the GP2 series. The Japanese racer, who admits he once wanted to be a stand up comedian, is naturally looking forward to the season ahead…
What are your thoughts entering your second year as third driver with Toyota Racing?
“I’m really pleased to be continuing with the team and I’m looking forward to the challenge of developing the TF109. It will be another busy season for me because I will be racing in GP2 Asia and the GP2 Series as well as being third driver with Toyota but I am young and I love driving racing cars so it’s no problem for me. This is an important year for me because I want to enjoy success in GP2 as this is the perfect stepping stone for a career in Formula One. I don’t know what the future will hold but I will fight all the way this year, never giving up and always giving everything I can.”
How do you find life as a Formula One driver?
“It’s great fun but it is also very tiring. I have to say, being a Formula One driver is not what I expected when I was a small boy because it is about more than just driving and working on the car; there are so many other tasks that I need to do. It’s obvious to me now but when I was a young boy I just assumed racing drivers spent their days only racing cars! The time you actually spend driving the car is only 5-10% of the year. The rest of the time is taken up with training, team meetings for the development of the car, PR and various other activities. These are the things that make up the overall life of a Formula One driver.
From a private point of view, nothing much has changed for me - except I am even busier than ever! As a Formula One driver for Toyota and a GP2 racer, there is plenty of work to keep me busy but I enjoy it.”