#10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham F1 Team

Date of Birth: 13/09/1986 | Nationality: Japanese | Twitter: @kamui_kobayashi

Career:

Kobayashi spent a few seasons in GP2 and achieved fleeting success but he received his break when Timo Glock was injured during qualifying for the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix.

Glock was forced to miss the final two races of the year and Kobayashi drove in his place. The Japanese driver made an instant impact with his aggressive approach and fended off champion elect Jenson Button for a large part of the race in Brazil.

Toyota withdrew from the sport at the end of 2009 but Kobayashi found refuge with Sauber. He endured a difficult start to the year but the car improved, with Kobayashi claiming a best of sixth in Germany. Nonetheless, his combative approach earned him widespread appreciation from the Formula 1 community.

Kobayashi scored points in the first seven races of 2011 - albeit he was disqualified for a technical infringement in Australia - but his form dipped and he ended the season with fewer points than in 2010.

Sauber improved in 2012 and Kobayashi occasionally utilised the car to maximum effect. He qualified on the front row in Belgium but was eliminated in the first corner accident. The high point of his career came in Japan when he held off Jenson Button to finish on the podium at his home race, with the Japanese spectators chanting his name as he collected his trophy. He ended the year - as he did in 2010 and 2011 - in 12th place in the championship.

For 2013, he switched to the World Endurance Championship with Ferrari after failing to secure an F1 seat and also participated in a few demonstration events for the team.