After losing his drive in Belgium to Andre Lotterer at Spa-Francorchamps, Kamui Kobayashi returned to the Caterham F1 Team for the race at Monza, and retains his drive alongside Marcus Ericsson for this weekend’s battle in Singapore. Rumours had persisted in recent weeks about the possibility of Roberto Merhi, who participated in free practice in Italy, replacing the Japanese driver, but for this weekend at least, Kobayashi remains a Caterham driver.
After taking the fight to and winning the battle in Monza, Kobayashi will be hoping to beat Marussia once more around Singapore. He is optimistic about the possibility of another good battle with their main rivals, and knows on a street circuit anything is possible.
“I always like the Singapore Grand Prix because it’s a night race and its festive atmosphere is definitely one of the highlights of the season,” said Kobayashi. “It’s a very technical track, with lots of changes of direction, and it’s a challenging race for everyone.
“After finishing ahead of our closest rivals in Italy, I look forward to another good fight out on track in Singapore – it will be good to see what we are capable of with the updated car at the Marina Bay Street Circuit – at street circuits anything can happen and we need to make sure we do our best.”
Team-mate Ericsson has fond memories of Singapore, having finished on the podium there in the GP2 Series, and is looking forward to the weekend ahead of him. He feels prepared, and hopes to have a good race around the streets of Marina Bay.
“Singapore is one of my favourite cities and I cannot wait for my first Formula One night race experience,” said Ericsson. “It’s a circuit I know quite well – I’ve finished on the podium every time I’ve raced there with GP2, so it brings back very good memories.
“The track is bumpy and it reminds me a lot of Monaco, even though the Singapore layout is much more physical and requires double the amount of energy over a single lap compared to Monte Carlo. The heat and humidity also make it a tough race weekend, but I’ve been training hard to make sure I am ready for the challenge and I look forward to the weekend ahead.”
