Kamui Kobayashi

Kamui Kobayashi (小林 可夢偉, Kobayashi Kamui, born 13 September 1986) is a Japanese professional racing driver who, as of 2020, competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG. He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and the GP2 Asia Series (which he won).

Kamui Kobayashi
Kobayashi in 2014
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1986-09-13) 13 September 1986 Amagasaki, Japan
Previous series
2008-09 2006–07 2005 2004–05 2004 2004 2004	GP2 Series Formula 3 Euro Series Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia FR2000 Germany Asian Formula Renault FR2000 Netherlands
Championship titles
2008–09 2005 2005	GP2 Asia Series Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	2009–2012, 2014
Teams	Toyota, Sauber, Caterham
Car number	10
Entries	76 (75 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	125
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2013, 2016-2019
Teams	AF Corse, Toyota Motorsport GmbH
Best finish	2nd in LMP1 (2016, 2018, 2019)
Class wins	0
World Endurance Championship – LMGTE Pro
Years active	2013
Teams	AF Corse
Starts	8
Wins	1
Podiums	1
Poles	0
Fastest laps	2
Best finish	7th in 2013
World Endurance Championship – LMP1-H
Years active	2016-Present
Teams	Toyota Gazoo Racing
Starts	31
Wins	6
Poles	8
Fastest laps	4
Best finish	2nd in 2018-19

Racing career

Early career

Kobayashi was born in Amagasaki, near Kobe. His father owns a sushi restaurant.[1] He began his career in motorsport in 1996 when he was nine years old, finishing third in his first season of karting in the SL Takarazuka Tournament Cadet Class. During the following seven years, Kobayashi took four karting titles, winning the Toyota SL All Japan Tournament Cadet Class series twice.

In 2004, he signed for Toyota's Driver Academy and soon began his career in open wheel racing. His next step was Formula Renault, entering the Asian, German, Italian and Dutch championships and taking two race victories in the Italian championship. Kobayashi continued in the Formula Renault class, entering the Italian and European championships and with six wins in both championships, he won both titles.

In 2006, Kobayashi entered the Formula 3 Euro Series with ASM Formule 3 alongside Paul di Resta, Giedo van der Garde and Sebastian Vettel. He took three podium positions in his debut season, coming eighth in the Drivers' Championship and first in the Rookie's Championship. Kobayashi also entered the Macau Grand Prix and the Masters of Formula 3, which are annual Formula Three events. Kobayashi started in 10th place and finished the race a place lower in 11th, while at the Macau Grand Prix, he started the race in pole position but finished in 19th place.

At the beginning of 2007, Kobayashi, along with Kohei Hirate, was named as one of the Toyota Formula One team's test drivers. He stayed in the Euro Series for the upcoming season and had an impressive start, taking two podiums in the first four rounds. He achieved his first race victory in Formula 3 at Magny-Cours, in the tenth round, a support race for the Formula One French Grand Prix. Kobayashi finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship.

GP2

Kobayashi driving for DAMS at the Nürburgring round of the 2009 GP2 Series season

Following a successful GP2 Asia Series campaign in early 2008, Kobayashi won his first GP2 Series race in only the second race of the season. After a strong start from pole in the sprint race at the Circuit de Catalunya, Kobayashi took the chequered flag in first place. This was after a controversial piece of defensive driving from his former Euro Series teammate Romain Grosjean after a safety car period. At the end of the pit straight, Kobayashi attempted a pass on Grosjean. However, the Frenchman moved more than once to defend his position, forcing Kobayashi into evasive action. This resulted in a drive through penalty for the Frenchman, handing the win to Kobayashi. However, he only finished in the points on one further occasion, restricting him to sixteenth in the championship.

Another successful GP2 Asia campaign followed over the winter months of 2008 and 2009, with Kobayashi winning two races en route to the championship, with a round to spare. Kobayashi could not repeat his form in the main series, finishing sixteenth again.

Formula One (2007–2012)

On November 16, 2007 it was confirmed that Kobayashi would replace the departing Franck Montagny as the Toyota F1 team's third driver.[2] He was the team's test and reserve driver during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Toyota (2009)

Kobayashi deputising for Timo Glock during practice for the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix

2009

At the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix, Kobayashi competed in the first two free practice sessions in place of Timo Glock, who was ill.[3] Glock recovered in time to take part in the third free practice session and qualifying, but was injured after crashing in the final session and had to miss the race. Toyota asked the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for permission to run Kobayashi in the race, but this was refused as the regulations state a driver must run in at least one session on Saturday to be eligible to start the race.[4]

Kobayashi made his Formula One debut at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, following a complication to Glock's injury that was initially not detected.[5] He qualified 11th in a chaotic session that lasted for over two and half hours and was red-flagged twice due to accidents caused by torrential rain. Early in the race, while running in sixth place, he held off for several laps a challenge by Jenson Button, who needed to finish well to clinch the world championship. He finished the race in tenth place, and was later promoted to ninth when Heikki Kovalainen was penalised. Button jokingly described Kobayashi as "absolutely crazy, very aggressive".[6] He also competed in the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Glock's injury had not healed sufficiently.[7] Kobayashi qualified 12th and finished sixth, scoring his first World Championship points, in the inaugural day-night race in Abu Dhabi.[8] Before Toyota decided to withdraw from Formula One, Kobayashi was expected to be given a full-time seat at Toyota for the 2010 Formula One Season.[9]

Sauber (2010–2012)

2010

Kobayashi driving for Sauber at the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

Kobayashi became another victim of the "Wall of Champions" at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix

Following Toyota's withdrawal, Kobayashi faced an uncertain future, but he was mentioned in lists of probable drivers for the series' new teams for 2010.[10] After weeks of speculation, it was confirmed on December 17, 2009 he would drive for Peter Sauber's recovered Sauber team after BMW Sauber had withdrawn for 2010.[11] His teammate was former McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa. Kobayashi completed his first laps in the new Sauber C29 chassis during F1 winter testing on 2 February.

During the Australian Grand Prix, a front wing failure on his Sauber caused him to hit the barrier, rebounding off it to cause a three-car crash taking out Nico Hülkenberg and Sébastien Buemi. In the next race in Malaysia he qualified in ninth place, his best grid position up to that point, however he suffered an engine failure early in the race. In China, Kobayashi was involved in a three-way collision with Buemi and Vitantonio Liuzzi on the first lap, making him the only driver to retire from the first four races. In Turkey, he won his first points of the season, coming home tenth after being promoted a place due to Vettel's retirement after a collision with teammate Webber and Petrov's puncture. In Valencia, he finished seventh by passing both Fernando Alonso and Sébastien Buemi in the final laps on fresh tyres, after driving the majority of the race in third position on his first set of tyres. He followed that with sixth place in Silverstone, eleventh in Germany, ninth in Hungary and eighth in Belgium.

At the Italian Grand Prix, Kobayashi suffered a gearbox failure and retired from the Singapore Grand Prix after hitting a track-side barrier. Kobayashi's teammate changed in Singapore as Pedro de la Rosa was removed in favour of Nick Heidfeld. In Japan, Kobayashi qualified 14th and finished seventh, passing several drivers along the way including his teammate, in a very impressive fashion. He finished eighth in Korea and tenth in Brazil, eventually finishing the season with 32 points. In his review of the season, former TV commentator Murray Walker stated that Kobayashi is "without a doubt Japan's best [F1 driver] yet".[12] Kobayashi gained a reputation during the season as a highly skilled overtaker, being able to outbrake drivers several car lengths in front of him. His aggressive overtaking style was described by Martin Brundle as, "He gets to the normal braking point and then goes, 'Now, which one is the brake again? That's right, it's on the left,' and he just sails past people!"[13] He qualified well against his more experienced teammates, outqualifying de la Rosa and Heidfeld 11 times to 8 over the season.

2011

Kobayashi at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

Kobayashi remained with Sauber in 2011,[14] where he was partnered by GP2 graduate Sergio Pérez. Kobayashi finished eighth in the season opening Australian Grand Prix, but he and Pérez – who had finished seventh – were disqualified after the race due to an irregularity with the car's rear-wing. The next race of the season in Malaysia was another strong showing for Kobayashi, finishing eighth in the race, eventually classified seventh after Lewis Hamilton received a penalty. He finished tenth in his next three races, before a career-high fifth place in an incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix. In an extremely wet Canadian Grand Prix, Kobayashi worked his way up from 13th place to 2nd having not decided to change to extreme wet tyres before the race was red-flagged, as many other drivers had. This essentially gave him a free pit stop while the race was suspended. After the restart, the track began to dry out, and after changing to intermediate tyres and finally slicks, Kobayashi dropped several places, including having a spin whilst lapping a backmarker and being rear-ended by Nick Heidfeld. He eventually finished seventh, 0.045 seconds behind Felipe Massa, who passed him on the final straight.

2012

Kobayashi during pre-season testing at Jerez

On 28 July 2011, it was announced that Kobayashi would remain with Sauber into the 2012 season, alongside teammate Pérez.[15]

Kobayashi driving for Sauber at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix

Kobayashi started the season with sixth place at the Australian Grand Prix,[16] and a retirement at the Malaysian Grand Prix, due to a problem with his car's brakes.[17]

Kobayashi at the 2012 United States Grand Prix

He then started third at the Chinese Grand Prix behind the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. He dropped to tenth but managed to set the fastest lap. At the Spanish Grand Prix he finished fifth after overtaking Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. Kobayashi finished in the points once in the next four races, finishing ninth in Canada. Kobayashi finished in a career-best fourth place at the German Grand Prix – having finished fifth on-the-road – as he was helped by a post-race penalty for second-placed Sebastian Vettel.[18] After retiring late in the race at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Kobayashi qualified a career-best second for the Belgian Grand Prix but was caught in a first-corner accident along with four other drivers. Kobayashi was the only one of the five to continue in the race, and finished thirteenth.[19]

Kobayashi took his maiden podium in Formula One with third place at the Japanese Grand Prix, after lasting through race-long pressure from Jenson Button. Kobayashi became the first Japanese driver to finish on a Formula One podium in Japan in 22 years, after Aguri Suzuki in the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, and was the third Japanese driver to finish on a Formula One podium after Suzuki and Takuma Sato in the 2004 United States Grand Prix.[20]

On 23 November 2012, Sauber announced that Kobayashi would not be a part of the team's line-up for the 2013 season, as Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez would form the race team and Robin Frijns as reserve driver.[21] Kobayashi ultimately finished the season in twelfth place in the Drivers' Championship, with 60 points.[22] Despite raising around €8 million in sponsorship, Kobayashi elected to focus on gaining a competitive drive for the 2014 season rather than a 2013 drive.[23]

FIA World Endurance Championship (2013)

AF Corse

Kobayashi's Ferrari 458 GT during the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans

On 11 March 2013 it was confirmed that Kobayashi would drive for AF Corse in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship season. He competed in the LMGTE-Pro class in the Ferrari 458 GT for what is expected to be all of the season's 8 rounds, including the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.[24]

Kobayashi also tested a 2010 Formula One Ferrari in preparation for a promotional event in Moscow, where he crashed in the wet.[25][26]

In the 81st edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2013, Kobayashi and the AF Corse team scored fifth place in the GTE-Pro class along with his co-drivers Olivier Beretta and Toni Vilander, their Ferrari 458 GT covered a total of 312 laps in the Circuit de la Sarthe. The race was run in very difficult weather conditions and several serious accidents bringing out a record of twelve safety car caution periods.[27][28][29]

Return to Formula One (2014)

Caterham (2014)

Kobayashi at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix

On 21 January 2014, it was confirmed that Kobayashi would return to Formula One with the Caterham F1 team for the 2014 season partnering Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson after considerable speculation about the team's all new line-up for the new season.[30] At the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, Kobayashi crashed into Massa at the start due to a brake failure. However, in the following Malaysian Grand Prix, he was running as high as eighth, ahead of his teammate, the Marussias, and several other cars. He however finished the race in 13th, promoting Caterham to 10th in the Constructors' standings. However, later in the season Caterham were demoted to 11th due to Jules Bianchi achieving Marussia's first points finish in the Monaco Grand Prix.[31]

On 20 August 2014, it was announced that German driver André Lotterer would replace Kobayashi for the Belgian Grand Prix race weekend.[32] He returned to racing action at the Italian Grand Prix after Lotterer declined a further offer due to the seat being taken in practice by Roberto Merhi, who was attempting to qualify for an FIA Super Licence.[33] Kobayashi declared his unhappiness at the situation, with the team's driver plans changing at short notice and his own future uncertain.[34]

Super Formula (2015–)

Team LeMans (2015–2016)

On 30 January 2015, it was confirmed that Kobayashi would drive for Team LeMans in the 2015 Super Formula season.[35] He scored three podiums on his way to a fifth-place finish in the drivers' championship during his first year in the series.

His second year with Team LeMans was less successful, only managing to score one point and finishing 17th in the championship.

KCMG (2017–)

Kobayashi moved to KCMG at the start of the 2017 season.[36]

Return to FIA World Endurance Championship (2016–)

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Kobayashi driving in the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone

On 4 February 2016, Kobayashi was confirmed as a LMP1 driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Kobayashi scored his first WEC race victory at the 2016 6 Hours of Fuji, finishing ahead of the No. 8 Audi and the No. 1 Porsche.[37]

Personal life

He was named after Kamuy, a divine being in Ainu mythology, and the letter of the name imitated the sound citing three Kanji from the sentence "Enabling great dream(s)".[38] Kobayashi is a supporter of Spanish-Valencian La Liga club Valencia CF.

In April 2013, he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Sport award at The Asian Awards in London.[39]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2003	Formula Toyota	N/A	10	2	4	?	?	120	2nd
2004	Formula Renault 2000 Italy	Prema Powerteam	17	2	3	1	3	134	7th
	Formula Renault 2000 Germany		2	0	0	0	0	16	31st
	Formula Renault 2000 Netherlands		?	?	?	?	?	32	15th
	Asian Formula Renault Challenge	Asia Racing Team	1	0	0	?	0	16	31st
2005	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0	Prema Powerteam	16	6	4	4	8	157	1st
	Formula Renault 2.0 Italy		15	6	9	8	11	312	1st
2006	Formula 3 Euro Series	ASM Formule 3	19	0	0	1	3	34	8th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	1	0	0	N/A	19th
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	11th
2007	Formula 3 Euro Series	ASM Formule 3	20	1	1	0	7	59	4th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	13th
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
	Formula One	Toyota Racing	Test driver
2008	GP2 Asia Series	DAMS	10	2	0	0	3	22	6th
	GP2 Series		20	1	0	2	1	10	16th
	Formula One	Toyota Racing	Test driver
2008–09	GP2 Asia Series	DAMS	11	2	2	3	4	56	1st
2009	GP2 Series	DAMS	20	0	0	0	1	13	16th
	Formula One	Panasonic Toyota Racing	2	0	0	0	0	3	18th
2010	Formula One	BMW Sauber F1 Team	19	0	0	0	0	32	12th
2011	Formula One	Sauber F1 Team	19	0	0	0	0	30	12th
2012	Formula One	Sauber F1 Team	20	0	0	1	1	60	12th
2013	FIA World Endurance Championship – LMGTE Pro	AF Corse	8	0	0	2	4	98	7th
	24 Hours of Le Mans – LMGTE Pro		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	5th
2014	Formula One	Caterham F1 Team	16	0	0	0	0	0	22nd
2015	Super Formula	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	8	0	0	0	3	20	5th
2016	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Gazoo Racing	9	1	0	1	6	145	3rd
	24 Hours of Le Mans		1	0	0	1	1	N/A	2nd
	Super Formula	Sunoco Team LeMans	9	0	0	2	0	1	17th
2017	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Gazoo Racing	9	0	4	1	3	103.5	5th
	24 Hours of Le Mans		1	0	1	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Super Formula	KCMG	7	0	0	1	1	16.5	7th
	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Good Smile Racing & Team UKYO	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	Mercedes-AMG	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Super GT	Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh	1	0	0	0	0	10	17th
2017–18	Formula E	MS&AD Andretti Formula E	2	0	0	0	0	0	24th
2018	Super GT	Lexus Team SARD	7	1	0	0	1	27	13th
	Super Formula	carrozzeria Team KCMG	5	0	0	1	1	11	10th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Toyota Gazoo Racing	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
2018-19	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Gazoo Racing	8	2	4	2	6	157	2nd
2019	Super Formula	carrozzeria Team KCMG	7	0	0	1	2	19	6th
	WeatherTech SportsCar Championship	Konica Minolta Cadillac	1	1	0	0	1	35	27th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Toyota Gazoo Racing	1	0	1	0	1	N/A	2nd
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	Mercedes-AMG	1	0	0	0	0	1	25th
2019-20	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Gazoo Racing	6	3	1	1	6	137	1st*
2020	WeatherTech Sports Car Championship	Konica Minolta Cadillac	1	1	0	1	1	35	11th*

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series record

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2006	ASM Formule 3	Dallara F305/012	Mercedes	HOC 1 6	HOC 2 5	LAU 1 11	LAU 2 10	OSC 1 11	OSC 2 7	BRH 1 6	BRH 2 3	NOR 1 5	NOR 2 2	NÜR 1 8	NÜR 2 3	ZAN 1 5	ZAN 2 Ret	CAT 1 5	CAT 2 Ret	BUG 1 DNS	BUG 2 14	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 9	8th	34
2007	ASM Formule 3	Dallara F305/012	Mercedes	HOC 1 10	HOC 2 10	BRH 1 3	BRH 2 3	NOR 1 8	NOR 2 Ret	MAG 1 1	MAG 2 9	MUG 1 2	MUG 2 4	ZAN 1 2	ZAN 2 17	NÜR 1 11	NÜR 2 Ret	CAT 1 19	CAT 2 Ret	NOG 1 2	NOG 2 2	HOC 1 4	HOC 2 Ret	4th	59

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2008	DAMS	CAT FEA 8	CAT SPR 1	IST FEA Ret	IST SPR 9	MON FEA Ret	MON SPR 18	MAG FEA Ret	MAG SPR 9	SIL FEA Ret	SIL SPR 7	HOC FEA Ret	HOC SPR 18	HUN FEA 11	HUN SPR 8	VAL FEA Ret	VAL SPR 6	SPA FEA 9	SPA SPR 14	MNZ FEA Ret	MNZ SPR 13	16th	10
2009	DAMS	CAT FEA 8	CAT SPR 5	MON FEA Ret	MON SPR 12	IST FEA Ret	IST SPR NC	SIL FEA Ret	SIL SPR 17	NÜR FEA 9	NÜR SPR 3	HUN FEA 13	HUN SPR 8	VAL FEA 8	VAL SPR 11	SPA FEA 7	SPA SPR 11	MNZ FEA 17	MNZ SPR 17	ALG FEA 6	ALG SPR 19	16th	13

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Points
2008	DAMS	DUB1 FEA 13	DUB1 SPR Ret	SEN FEA Ret	SEN SPR 15	SEP FEA 5	SEP SPR 1	BHR FEA 3	BHR SPR 1	DUB2 FEA 20	DUB2 SPR 14			6th	22
2008–09	DAMS	SHI FEA 2	SHI SPR Ret	DUB FEA 1	DUB SPR C	BHR1 FEA 1	BHR1 SPR 6	LSL FEA 4	LSL SPR 18	SEP FEA 2	SEP SPR 7	BHR2 FEA 4	BHR2 SPR 5	1st	56

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	WDC	Points
2009	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF109	Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	CHN	BHR	ESP	MON	TUR	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN PO	BRA 9	ABU 6				18th	3
2010	BMW Sauber F1 Team	Sauber C29	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	BHR Ret	AUS Ret	MAL Ret	CHN Ret	ESP 12	MON Ret	TUR 10	CAN Ret	EUR 7	GBR 6	GER 11	HUN 9	BEL 8	ITA Ret	SIN Ret	JPN 7	KOR 8	BRA 10	ABU 14		12th	32
2011	Sauber F1 Team	Sauber C30	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	AUS DSQ	MAL 7	CHN 10	TUR 10	ESP 10	MON 5	CAN 7	EUR 16	GBR Ret	GER 9	HUN 11	BEL 12	ITA Ret	SIN 14	JPN 13	KOR 15	IND Ret	ABU 10	BRA 9		12th	30
2012	Sauber F1 Team	Sauber C31	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	AUS 6	MAL Ret	CHN 10	BHR 13	ESP 5	MON Ret	CAN 9	EUR Ret	GBR 11	GER 4	HUN 18†	BEL 13	ITA 9	SIN 13	JPN 3	KOR Ret	IND 14	ABU 6	USA 14	BRA 9	12th	60
2014	Caterham F1 Team	Caterham CT05	Renault Energy F1‑2014 1.6 V6 t	AUS Ret	MAL 13	BHR 15	CHN 18	ESP Ret	MON 13	CAN Ret	AUT 16	GBR 15	GER 16	HUN Ret	BEL	ITA 17	SIN DNS	JPN 19	RUS Ret	USA	BRA	ABU Ret		22nd	0

^† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Rank	Points
2013	AF Corse	LMGTE Pro	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8	SIL 2	SPA 3	LMS 4	SÃO Ret	COA 3	FUJ 9	SHA 5	BHR 3		7th	98
2016	Toyota Gazoo Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	Toyota 2.4 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	SIL 2	SPA Ret	LMS 2	NÜR 6	MEX 3	COA 3	FUJ 1	SHA 2	BHR 5	3rd	145
2017	Toyota Gazoo Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	Toyota 2.4 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	SIL 13	SPA 2	LMS Ret	NÜR 3	MEX 4	COA 4	FUJ 2	SHA 4	BHR 4	5th	103.5
2018–19	Toyota Gazoo Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	Toyota 2.4 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	SPA 2	LMS 2	SIL DSQ	FUJ 1	SHA 1	SEB 2	SPA 6	LMS 2		2nd	157
2019–20	Toyota Gazoo Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	Toyota 2.4 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid)	SIL 1	FUJ 2	SHA 3	BHR 1	COA 3	SPA 1	LMS	BHR		1st*	137*

^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2013	AF Corse	Toni Vilander Olivier Beretta	Ferrari 458 Italia GT	GTE Pro	312	20th	5th
2016	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Mike Conway Stéphane Sarrazin	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	LMP1	381	2nd	2nd
2017	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Mike Conway Stéphane Sarrazin	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	LMP1	154	DNF	DNF
2018	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Mike Conway José María López	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	LMP1	386	2nd	2nd
2019	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Mike Conway José María López	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	LMP1	385	2nd	2nd

Complete Super Formula results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	DC	Points
2015	Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans	SUZ 9	OKA 2	FUJ 10	MOT 17	AUT 3	SUG 6	SUZ 3	SUZ 9		6th	20
2016	Sunoco Team LeMans	SUZ 16	OKA 18	FUJ 10	MOT 9	OKA 18	OKA 17	SUG 17	SUZ 9	SUZ 7	17th	1
2017	KCMG	SUZ 9	OKA 4	OKA 5	FUJ 15	MOT 2	AUT 7	SUG 7	SUZ C	SUZ C	7th	16.5
2018	carrozzeria Team KCMG	SUZ 10	AUT C	SUG 6	FUJ 12	MOT	OKA 2‡	SUZ 13			10th	11
2019	carrozzeria Team KCMG	SUZ 9	AUT 10	SUG 2	FUJ 6	MOT 2	OKA 18	SUZ 12			6th	19

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Super GT results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2017	Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA	FUJ	AUT	SUG	FUJ	SUZ 4	CHA	MOT	17th	10
2018	Lexus Team SARD	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA 12	FUJ	SUZ Ret	CHA 1	FUJ 11	SUG 10	AUT 8	MOT 8	13th	27

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Powertrain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos	Points
2017–18	MS&AD Andretti Formula E	Spark SRT01-e	Andretti ATEC-03	HKG 15	HKG 17	MRK	SCL	MEX	PDE	RME	PAR	BER	ZUR	NYC	NYC	24th	0

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2019	Konica Minolta Cadillac	DPi	Cadillac DPi-V.R	Cadillac 5.5 L V8	DAY 1	SEB	LBH	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	LGA	PET	27th	35
2020	Konica Minolta Cadillac	DPi	Cadillac DPi-V.R	Cadillac 5.5 L V8	DAY 1	DAY	SEB	ELK	ATL	MDO	PET	LGA	SEB		11th*	35*

^* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Daytona results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2019	Konica Minolta Cadillac	Renger van der Zande Jordan Taylor Fernando Alonso	Cadillac DPi-V.R	DPi	593	1st	1st
2020	Konica Minolta Cadillac	Renger van der Zande Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Cadillac DPi-V.R	DPi	833	1st	1st

References

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39. Winners at the Asian Awards

External links

• (in Japanese and English) Kamui Kobayashi official website
• Kamui Kobayashi on IMDb

Sporting positions
Preceded by Pastor Maldonado	Italian Formula Renault Champion 2005	Succeeded by Dani Clos
Preceded by Scott Speed	Eurocup Formula Renault Champion 2005	Succeeded by Filipe Albuquerque
Preceded by Romain Grosjean	GP2 Asia Series Champion 2008–09	Succeeded by Davide Valsecchi
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Kris Meeke	Autosport Awards Rookie of the Year 2010	Succeeded by Paul di Resta