What's Next for Kamui Kobayashi in Formula 1?

Every sport needs its superstars—the success of the recent Senna movie is evidence of that. Countless people will have seen the film and subsequently tuned in to the next Grand Prix.

The promoter of a given sport has to recognise when a new star emerges, and then help that person into a position from which they can fulfil their potential and capture the public’s imagination.

There are many superstars in the current generation of Formula One drivers, but one who stands out as a future hero is Kamui Kobayashi. His potential was evident from his first race, the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix. He fought mightily with Jenson Button as the Englishman attempted to haul himself into a World Championship winning position.

For many drivers, racing in your debut Grand Prix against the guy attempting to secure the World Championship would have meant putting up a mediocre defence of your position, before deferring to the inevitable.

But not Kamui.

For all he knew this was his only chance to shine in a Grand Prix and he was going to seize the opportunity as firmly as he could. He fought the World Champion-in-waiting hard. We learned immediately that Kamui knows how to push his car to its absolute maximum.

He doesn’t give up. Ever.

Eventually Jenson did pass him, but at the next race, in Abu Dhabi, the two fought again and this time, it was Kamui that came out on top, slipstreaming Jenson all the way down the longest straight in Formula One.

As they hit the brakes for the tight left-right sequence, Kamui forced Jenson into out-braking himself and sliding off the circuit. Kamui was through.

It was a sign of things to come and since then, Kamui has gone on to produce some scintillating overtaking manoeuvres, notably at the 2010 European Grand Prix, when he passed Sebastien Buemi on the final corner of the final lap, and the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix when he overtook a number of cars in forceful but fair manoeuvres.

He’s getting the results too.

In all his Formula One races to date, he has scored 60 points whereas his team mates have scored just 16. That’s a huge difference.

It is clear that Kamui is a thrilling driver to watch when he is in the car, but he is also a mature, down to earth person out of the car.

With a little more experience and slight increase in the maturity of his on-track manoeuvres, Kamui will have placed himself firmly on the shopping lists of the top teams.

There are potential openings at McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari over the next few years.

In theory, teams should pick the very best driver available, but would Kamui’s persona fit in with McLaren? Some would suggest it would fit better at Red Bull. But would the Sauber-Ferrari link give Kamui a helping hand into Felipe Massa’s old seat in 2013?

Where he ends up is anyone’s guess, but we have to hope that finds himself in a race-winning car at some point because this Japanese driver is a thrill to watch.

All Kamui has to do is get the best out of his Sauber-Ferrari, and continue racking up those points.