adminKamui Kobayashi admitted to being “seriously troubled” about the safety of his Caterham Formula 1 car, during the Russian Grand Prix weekend. The race took place, just seven days after Marussia driver, Jules Bianchi suffered severe head injuries in a crash in Japan. Kobayashi was so uneasy about a repair made to his car’s suspension ahead of final practice, he questioned whether to continue.
“Scary!” the Japanese wrote on his Facebook page, in a post seen by BBC Sport. “Last night a suspension defect was found. There’s no spare so it was repaired by wrapping it in carbon.
“It’s checked all the time but, even so, being asked to race like this is too scary! I want to go home already.
“From here on, there’re still practices and the race to go. I’m seriously troubled. As a racing driver, should I drive? Should I safely decline? I drive again in 15 minutes…”
Caterham said Kobayashi was “kept informed at all times ,and at no time did he have any reason to believe it was not safe”.
Kobayashi did drive in practice in Russia, completing 12 laps, the same amount as in the relevant session at the previous race in Japan.
Caterham said a “small inconsistency” was noticed on the left rear suspension of his car after Friday practice in Sochi.
The team added: “It was extensively evaluated at Sochi and Leafield (Caterham’s base) and ultimately a carbon-fibre wrap was applied to provide additional reinforcement – a normal procedure.
“The component was signed off as safe and re-checked between each subsequent session, to be absolutely sure there was no issue.
“Kamui withdrew the post mentioned and drove the car in this form, throughout the rest of the weekend, with no hint of any other problem with the suspension.” — BBC Sport
Online Reporter