Sayonara, cowboy!

girry · Post by **girry** » 05 Dec 2012, 16:56

Takuma's getting sponsored by Panasonic in the IndyCars for estimated 1.5 mill/season(?) and seemingly losing his seat at Rahal's team. There any chance they might get to Kamui with that sum should Taku not find another seat?

SuperAguri · Post by **SuperAguri** » 06 Dec 2012, 02:00

CarlosFerreira wrote:
Ferrarist wrote:So what will Kamui do with a million pounds? Refunds would be quite difficult. Aside from charity, he could buy himself a season or two in other series, like the BTCC, or any GT series in Europe. Although he's much more likely to return to Japan, doing either Super GT or WEC for Toyota.

I imagine these are pledges, not actual money transfers yet - much like with Kickstarter.

Indeed I pledged 100,000 lebanesepounds.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 06 Dec 2012, 02:05

I pledged 100,001 lebanesepounds.

Masahiko · Post by **Masahiko** » 06 Dec 2012, 04:23

Ferrarist wrote:
Klon wrote:Don't get too excited, this million won't help him. Barrichello managed to acquire 3.5 million in sponsorship when he tried to stay with Williams, however it didn't help him at all. If Force India lies and the seat is at least in parts down to money, Kobayashi has no chance in hell (come on, come on, come and get it) of getting said cockpit.

So what will Kamui do with a million pounds? Refunds would be quite difficult. Aside from charity, he could buy himself a season or two in other series, like the BTCC, or any GT series in Europe. Although he's much more likely to return to Japan, doing either Super GT or WEC for Toyota.

"Kamui-support" says there will be no refund, and if Kobayashi gets no seat for next season, the seat fund will be used for getting one for 2014. So he'll definitely stick to F1.

LionZoo · Post by **LionZoo** » 07 Dec 2012, 07:28

giraurd wrote:Takuma's getting sponsored by Panasonic in the IndyCars for estimated 1.5 mill/season(?) and seemingly losing his seat at Rahal's team. There any chance they might get to Kamui with that sum should Taku not find another seat?

Can Taku buy HRT's vacant slot on the grid and start Super Taku Racing to give Kamui a drive? Maybe he can buy the rights to the old Toyota car and modify it for 2013 rules.

Henrique · Post by **Henrique** » 21 Dec 2012, 17:07

http://youtu.be/GAIywZ3oFIY

Never forget.

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 21 Dec 2012, 21:31

I bet on some IndyCar team gambling on Kobayashi as Sato almost won the Indy 500!

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 21 Dec 2012, 21:35

Onxy Wrecked wrote:I bet on some IndyCar team gambling on Kobayashi as Sato almost won the Indy 500!

I don't think that will be as succesful as we want it to be. Sato has been in IndyCras for a few years now, and has only just got near the front - if Kamui were to switch to the other side, it'd take him a few seasons at best to get up to speed.

Actually, I've just had a brilliant idea! A Honda factory team running Sato and Kobayashi!

They'd probably take each other out metres from winning the Indy 500! :lol:

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 21 Dec 2012, 21:37

pasta_maldonado wrote:
Onxy Wrecked wrote:I bet on some IndyCar team gambling on Kobayashi as Sato almost won the Indy 500!

I don't think that will be as succesful as we want it to be. Sato has been in IndyCras for a few years now, and has only just got near the front - if Kamui were to switch to the other side, it'd take him a few seasons at best to get up to speed.

Actually, I've just had a brilliant idea! A Honda factory team running Sato and Kobayashi! They'd probably take each other out metres from winning the Indy 500!

That would be certain to take out half of the field with debris if it occurs in turn 4.

S951 · Post by **S951** » 08 Jan 2013, 19:16

very last post on there

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?s ... start=2240

go on force india make the right decision choose kamui

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 08 Jan 2013, 21:32

S951 wrote:very last post on there

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?s ... start=2240

go on force india make the right decision choose kamui

Please be true

Henrique · Post by **Henrique** » 11 Feb 2013, 20:21

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105532

Surely not the Ferrari he wanted, but...

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 12 Feb 2013, 12:59

...good to see Kamui's still going to be racing, and not retreating back to the sushi restaurant.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 12 Feb 2013, 13:09

dinizintheoven wrote:...good to see Kamui's still going to be racing, and not retreating back to the sushi restaurant.

I think that's assuming he gets a paid up factory drive and not have to pay to race in sportscars. Much like Allan McNish has made a nice living for himself as a factory Audi driver after his F1 stint.

Snoozey2 · Post by **Snoozey2** » 16 Feb 2013, 15:42

If nothing else, be comforted by the thought that there will always be a place for Kamui on a Japanese TV show:

PS - Show above on YT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7E4Cr4ihEM

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 11 Mar 2013, 19:53

Looks like The Sushi Chef's Son From Amagasaki has landed a Ferrari drive after all...

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 11 Mar 2013, 20:24

Banzai!

Post by **mario** » 11 Mar 2013, 21:14

Phoenix wrote:Looks like The Sushi Chef's Son From Amagasaki has landed a Ferrari drive after all...

A shame that it's not quite the Ferrari that some might have hoped to see him in, but all in all it is certainly preferable to being cut out of the motorsport scene altogether.

Snoozey2 · Post by **Snoozey2** » 21 Apr 2013, 19:34

Lest we forget...

Cowboy just completed the first round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship at Silverstone last weekend (one of eight i believe).
He is driving for AF Corse in the GT category; one of his teammates is Giancarlo Fisichella.
Partnered with Toni Vilander, he placed 2nd among GTs behind the Aston Martin Racing co-driven by Bruno Senna - 15th place overall.
The next race will be at Spa on the weekend of May 4.

The previous week, Cowboy paid a visit to the museum:

Who knows, maybe one day...

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 23 Apr 2013, 08:06

Well, he certainly looks good, dressed in Ferrari gear.

But the F1 team certainly would put Pedro DLR in the car as their reserve driver in 2013 if needed, because he has already driven the car.

It's quite odd how Kamui's talent got so overlooked by team bosses. I guess they are not used to somebody from Japan NOT being a pay driver ...

S951 · Post by **S951** » 27 May 2013, 19:13

f10 run at fiorano in preparation for promo event in moscow

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 28 May 2013, 01:56

The F10 looks so beautiful with the F 138 colors. Stunning, in my eyes...

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 28 May 2013, 07:50

What a great image, and who's to say he couldnt be there next Feb with Fernando and the new car?

I believe in him!

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 28 May 2013, 09:45

go_Rubens wrote:The F10 looks so beautiful with the F 138 colors. Stunning, in my eyes...

I know, given how plain it looked in F10 colours

Perhaps the F138 livery is just perfect?

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 28 May 2013, 12:49

You never know if Massa produces more performances like Monaco.............

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 28 May 2013, 13:15

James1978 wrote:You never know if Massa produces more performances like Monaco.............

I had wondered whether Massa might have suffered a worse injury, necessitating his replacement. Thankfully that wasn't the case, but Kobayashi would have been a decent replacement, in my opinion.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 28 May 2013, 13:18

James1978 wrote:You never know if Massa produces more performances like Monaco.............

And it should be time for a driver change anyway.
Massa has been there a long time and is 2nd all-time in race starts for Ferrari, only behind MS.
And I thought Rubens was there too long!

Post by **Ataxia** » 28 May 2013, 15:15

Kamui certainly looks the part, doesn't he? And yeah, the UPS logo is a bit out of place but the repainted F10 looks really ace.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 28 May 2013, 15:18

This makes me curious as to how other cars would look with contemporary liveries. Photoshop Pals, get to it! :mrgreen:

Post by **mario** » 28 May 2013, 15:47

Backmarker wrote:
James1978 wrote:You never know if Massa produces more performances like Monaco.............

I had wondered whether Massa might have suffered a worse injury, necessitating his replacement. Thankfully that wasn't the case, but Kobayashi would have been a decent replacement, in my opinion.

I was a little worried by the fact that Massa did seem to be in discomfort when he exited the car - thankfully, the latest reports indicate that, although he has suffered some bruising and muscle pain, that he should be back to full health before the Canadian GP.

As I mentioned elsewhere, though, Kobayashi probably would make a fairly decent replacement if needed. He has recent experience in F1, and probably enough for Ferrari to consider him suitably qualified to race their car, he was generally pretty sensible on track in 2012 and fairly consistent too in terms of pace and points scoring, something that would be important for Ferrari in the WCC.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 28 May 2013, 17:18

Does cowboy speak Italian? Or is he currently learning it?
If he should ever step into a permanent number two driver role, surely he must learn it?
Pretty much every driver who has won races for Ferrari could also speak Italian, except Kimi of course. :lol:

But this got me thinking, was Irvine speaking Italian?

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 28 May 2013, 21:17

Jocke1 wrote:Does cowboy speak Italian? Or is he currently learning it?
If he should ever step into a permanent number two driver role, surely he must learn it?
Pretty much every driver who has won races for Ferrari could also speak Italian, except Kimi of course.
But this got me thinking, was Irvine speaking Italian?

I don't think Kamui can speak Italian. I think Irvine did speak Italian though, but Mika Salo didn't IIRC.

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 28 May 2013, 22:03

Jocke1 wrote:Does cowboy speak Italian? Or is he currently learning it?
If he should ever step into a permanent number two driver role, surely he must learn it?
Pretty much every driver who has won races for Ferrari could also speak Italian, except Kimi of course.
But this got me thinking, was Irvine speaking Italian?

Irvine didn't speak Italian, at least not in the early Ferrari days. In fact, his lack of Italian helped get him the Ferrari seat, as Todt was looking for a driver who would stay at arms length from the Italian media; given past controversies (Larini in '94 for one), so to have a driver that couldn't converse with the press must have been an advantage. I think he spoke it later on in his Ferrari days though, I can't be sure

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 28 May 2013, 22:17

Ferrari had race winners from quite a lot of continents. So Kobayahsi could solve this. (but they also need an Oceanian driver once) However, Antarctica will still be a problem. But Pinguins might be suitable to become McLaren pitcrew, though.

Seriously, how can tifosi not like Kamui? He looks like a decent #2 driver that can surprise a few times but also put pressure on Alonso, which is perfect for Ferrari. He's friendly, he's hard-working and has the best taste of humour in the F1 paddock. What more do you want?

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 29 May 2013, 07:41

This wrote:Seriously, how can tifosi not like Kamui? He looks like a decent #2 driver that can surprise a few times but also put pressure on Alonso, which is perfect for Ferrari. He's friendly, he's hard-working and has the best taste of humour in the F1 paddock. What more do you want?

Plus he's a good cook

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 29 May 2013, 07:55

This wrote:Seriously, how can tifosi not like Kamui? He looks like a decent #2 driver that can surprise a few times but also put pressure on Alonso, which is perfect for Ferrari. He's friendly, he's hard-working and has the best taste of humour in the F1 paddock. What more do you want?

I believe he's the perfect fit for Ferrari because of all of the above plus he drives with as much passion as Alonso. I wonder what nickname the Tifosi could come up with for him in the same way Mansell was Il Leone?

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 29 May 2013, 08:03

takagi_for_the_win wrote:Irvine didn't speak Italian, at least not in the early Ferrari days. I think he spoke it later on in his Ferrari days though, I can't be sure

He did, pretty fluently too. In '99 there was a video/DVD cobbled together when it looked like he might win the title, it was pretty good actually. In one sequence he was talking to some girls in Italian inviting them back to his place later for a party. What made it cool was he did it on his way into Monza for the race whilst on his scooter. What a player, eyes always on the prize.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 29 May 2013, 08:31

CoopsII wrote:I believe he's the perfect fit for Ferrari because of all of the above plus he drives with as much passion as Alonso. I wonder what nickname the Tifosi could come up with for him in the same way Mansell was Il Leone?

Il Samurai?

girry · Post by **girry** » 29 May 2013, 13:16

Backmarker wrote:I think Irvine did speak Italian though, but Mika Salo didn't IIRC.

he does atleast understand some. Pretty handy with translating the Ferrari team radios.

Any knowledge about Mansell's italian language though?

This wrote:(but they also need an Oceanian driver once)

Chris Amon says 'been there done that'

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 21 Jul 2013, 19:31

Oh dear.