He is the last Japanese driver to score a Formula 1 podium, Lewis Hamilton thought he was an ‘amazing’ overtaker

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For the first time in over a decade, Japan has a Formula 1 driver capable of reaching the podium after Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull.

The 24-year-old has spent the last four years with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls but steps up to the senior Red Bull outfit for his home race and beyond at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.

This year marks the 13th anniversary of the last time that a Japanese driver was able to score a podium – coincidentally, that happened at Suzuka too, where Tsunoda will be aiming to emulate one of his fellow countrymen.

Back in 2012, Sauber had one of the strongest operations in Formula 1. Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi formed their driver line-up in a season where they achieved four podiums.

For the Swiss outfit, it served as a reminder of how good they could be, just four years on from a drivers’ championship charge with BMW and Robert Kubica in 2008.

Sauber signed Kobayashi ahead of the 2010 Formula 1 season, but he would go on to retire from each of his first four races and six of his first eight.

His lowest finish of the year was 12th and that was an impressive result judging by the calibre of driver he was competing with that year – Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Nico Hulkenberg just three of the midfield names he had to dice with.

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Lewis Hamilton once called Kamui Kobayashi an ‘amazing’ overtaker

The Japanese driver was kept on again in 2011 where he performed well enough to retain his seat. He started the year with six top-10 finishes in seven races and a disqualification at the season-opener in Melbourne due to a rear-wing infringement. It stripped him of more points.

Kobayashi would finish third at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix the following year, just four seconds behind Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in a race won by eventual champion Sebastian Vettel.

Kobayashi made his F1 debut the last time there were six rookies. He did complete two races with Toyota in 2009, but his full-time debut was the following year.

Although his career at the top level wouldn’t last beyond 2014, he has since been very successful in endurance racing after reuniting with Toyota.

Lewis Hamilton once complimented his rival for one area of his skillset. They even clashed on track once at the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix.

“Right now, I think we’re young, we have nothing to lose,” he said. “He’s done some amazing manoeuvres so I kind of feel like we’ve got something very much in common. We’re willing to take bigger risks than others.”

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What happened to Kamui Kobayashi after he left Formula 1 in 2014?

Kobayashi would end up racing in the World Endurance Championship in 2016, securing four podiums in eight races.

The breakthrough season would come in 2019-2020 when he managed a podium at all eight races and claimed a first championship.

In 2021 he and Toyota would go back-to-back, but they have since regressed and have failed to replicate their success.

At the age of 38, he continues to race today but it appears that his single-seater days are far from over. In 72 Super Formula races, he has never taken a victory but has managed seven podiums.