Kobayashi ready to settle for a role as 3rd driver in 2015

Kamui Kobayashi was present in Austin but not to drive his Caterham, as the British-Malaysian team is in administration and did not travel to the United States. It will also not be present in Brazil this weekend for the penultimate race of the season.

The Japanese driver doesn’t yet know what the future holds, but he hopes to stay in F1 in 2015. Although his future might not be as easy to finalize as his teammate Marcus Ericsson, who was officially announced at Sauber, he remains optimistic.

« [I spent] a few weeks looking for [another] role, but I think technically I am still a Caterham driver so maybe I can’t do it too much, » Kobayashi told journalists in Austin, unclear about his situation, as quoted by Autosport.

The former Toyota and Sauber driver even says he is ready to accept a role behind the scenes in an existing team, as a test or reserve driver like Charles Pic at Lotus this year, for example, if he doesn’t find a main seat: “I can’t bring money but I would be delighted to be a third driver to have more opportunities. I want to have what’s optimal if I see something coming.”

But if it will not be easy for Kamui Kobayashi to find a seat for the 2015 Formula 1 season without bringing a budget, he believes that his knowledge of single-seaters and current power units could help him: « I must be grateful for this opportunity because I have the experience of a Formula 1 single-seater and the new engine, which is very important to me and maybe one day I will be able to use this experience. »