Caterham have confirmed that Kamui Kobayashi will race for the team at next weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following confirmation the team will return to the grid for the season finale.
The Japanese driver remains under contract with Caterham, whilst 2014 team-mate Marcus Ericsson has cut ties with the team and will therefore not be racing.
Speaking about his return, having missed both the United States and Brazilian GP, Kobayashi said: “I am happy to be racing with the team in Abu Dhabi. It hasn’t been an easy last few weeks, so it will be nice to be back to in the car and work together with the Caterham F1 team members.”
The administrators in charge of Caterham likely had no other choice but to run Kobayashi as the regulations only allow four drivers per team per season. Caterham have already used three of those slots after it drafted in Andre Lotterer for the Belgian GP.
However with Lotterer turning down the chance to return and Ericsson no longer under contract and unwilling to race, the team has just one slot remaining which will be used for the second car.
The team haven’t confirmed who will drive alongside the Japanese driver, but it’s likely to be either Roberto Mehri, Max Chilton or even Rubens Barrichello.
Kobayashi is focusing on the job at hand though and took the time to thank fans for making a return possible.
“I would like to thank the fans for supporting the team like they have. This team is working hard and never gives up. We deserve to be racing in Abu Dhabi and I am very glad we can race again thanks to the crowdfunding Project.
“Now it is our turn to show what we can do – we will all try our best during the weekend ahead and hopefully we can end the season with a positive result for the future of this team.”
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