Kazuki Nakajima

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Kazuki Nakajima
File:Kazuki Nakajima 2009 Motorsport Japan 1.jpg
Born (1985-01-11) 11 January 1985 (age 39)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Japan Japanese
Active years 20072009
Teams Williams
Entries 36
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 9
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Kazuki Nakajima (中嶋 一貴 Nakajima Kazuki?, born January 11, 1985 in Okazaki, Aichi, Japan[1]) is a professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for the Williams-Toyota team from 2007 to 2009. Prior to that he had been their test driver, as well as a competitor in the GP2 Series for the DAMS team.

Nakajima was signed to drive for Stefan GP in 2010, but the team was not accepted as an entrant in the Formula One world championship.[2] After his F1 career ended, he moved back to Japan to compete in Formula Nippon, and he is also one of Toyota's drivers for its current prototype sportscar project.

Racing career

Pre-Formula One

Born in Okazaki, Aichi, Nakajima is the son of the retired Formula One driver Satoru Nakajima. His younger brother, Daisuke, is also a racing driver.[3] Nakajima started his career in racing in 1996, when he started karting. Three years later, he was crowned the Suzuka Formula ICA karting champion. After some impressive performances, Nakajima was picked up by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota as part of the corporation's Young Drivers Program.

His father had been backed by Toyota's arch-rivals Honda through his career. Nakajima hoped that by joining Toyota he would shield himself against any accusations that his father had promoted his career.[4]

In 2002, Nakajima won a scholarship in Formula Toyota, which he became champion in a year later. He progressed onto Japanese Formula Three in 2004, winning two of the 20 races and finishing fifth in the Drivers' Championship.

Nakajima stayed in Japanese Formula Three for 2005, finishing second. He dovetailed that championship with appearances in the Japanese GT300 sports car series, where he ended the year eighth.[4]

Nakajima moved to the Formula Three Euroseries in 2006 and competed against the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Paul di Resta. After starting the year strongly with second place in the first race and a win in round four, Nakajima finished seventh with 36 points, behind his Manor Motorsport team-mates Kohei Hirate (third) and Esteban Guerrieri (fourth). The championship was won by di Resta with 86 points.

In November 2006, Nakajima was named a Williams test driver for the 2007 season, alongside fellow test driver Narain Karthikeyan and race drivers Nico Rosberg and Alexander Wurz, targeting a race seat in 2008.[5] Nakajima's debut in a Formula One car came at Fuji Speedway during November 2006, where he completed four demonstration laps in wet conditions.[6]

Nakajima raced in the GP2 series in 2007 for the DAMS team alongside French 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix winner Nicolas Lapierre. Nakajima also served as Williams' test driver, completing 7,000 km of testing for the team.[7]

Nakajima's first year in GP2 finished with no wins, but five consecutive podiums and ended the year as top rookie. Nakajima's fifth in the championship put him comfortably ahead of Lapierre. Nakajima was found to have caused a collision in Istanbul, when he hit leader Karun Chandhok during the sprint race, and was given a drive-through penalty.[8]

Formula One

File:Kazuki Nakajima 2007 Brazil free practice.jpg
Nakajima driving in the rainy first free practice session during the 2007 Brazilian GP. His father Satoru also made his Formula One debut at the Brazilian GP in 1987.

It was announced on 9 October 2007 that following the retirement of Alexander Wurz, Nakajima would race for Williams in the season finale in Brazil.[9] Nakajima finished tenth in the race, setting the fifth fastest lap – quicker than his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who finished fourth.

At his first pit stop, Nakajima overshot his box and hit two of his mechanics. The mechanics were taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Nakajima apologised for the error: "First of all I would say I'm really sorry that some of my mechanics were injured during my pitstop and that I hope they're OK. It was a good first race for me but it was slightly overshadowed."

Patrick Head commented: "Kazuki drove well on his debut. His lap times were impressive and he's set a marker for a future in Formula One. Some of our mechanics were injured today, they're having some checks done now and we send our best wishes to them."[10]

On 7 November it was confirmed by Williams that Nakajima would partner Rosberg at the Williams team for the 2008 season.[11] He had a successful start to 2008 at the Australian Grand Prix, finishing seventh but promoted to sixth after Rubens Barrichello was disqualified, even whilst knocking Robert Kubica out of the race and being penalised. He then finished seventh in the Spanish Grand Prix, having outqualified his teammate. A first-corner incident with Giancarlo Fisichella at Istanbul forced him to retire. Nakajima scored two points at Monaco where no Japanese Formula One driver had previously scored a point,[12] and retired from the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix after hitting the pit wall when pitting for a new front wing. Nakajima scored another point at the 2008 British Grand Prix, after losing seventh place on the last lap. In Singapore, Nakajima made it to the third qualifying round for the first time qualifying 10th on the grid. He went on to finish eighth and scored a point.

Nakajima was retained by Williams for the 2009 season. At the 2009 Australian Grand Prix he crashed into the wall at turn six, putting him out of the race. Nakajima was the only driver to retire at Bahrain, stopping five laps before the end with overheated oil. He also crashed on the penultimate lap of the Monaco Grand Prix whilst running in 10th place. He came close to scoring at several Grands Prix, including losing a points finish after being delayed in the pit lane at the Turkish Grand Prix. At the British Grand Prix, Nakajima secured his highest ever Formula One grid slot, qualifying in an impressive fifth place ahead of world championship leader Jenson Button. However, his race was compromised by poor pit strategy, and he eventually finished outside the points. Nakajima once again nearly scored at the Hungarian Grand Prix, finishing just 0.7 seconds behind eighth place Jarno Trulli. He finished ninth again in Singapore. At Brazil Nakajima was once again in contention for points until being taken out by rookie and fellow countrymen Kamui Kobayashi. Nakajima finished the season having scored no points, with his team-mate Nico Rosberg being single-handedly responsible for every championship point scored by the Williams team, with Nakajima being the only non points scorer out of the drivers who took part in each race in 2009.

Williams signed Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hülkenberg for 2010, leaving Nakajima without a seat. However, in January, reports tied Nakajima to team Stefan GP, which had consolidated remnants of the Toyota F1 team after the Japanese manufacturer's withdrawal from the sport in late 2009. Stefan duly confirmed on 19 February 2010 that Nakajima was one of the team's drivers,[3] although the team did not have an entry to the 2010 Formula One season. The FIA subsequently ruled that Stefan GP could not be entered for the season at such a late stage, so Nakajima was left with no drive in Formula One for 2010.

Formula Nippon / Super Formula

File:Kazuki Nakajima 2014 Super Formula Motegi Race.jpg
Nakajima driving the Dallara SF14 for TOM'S in 2014.

Nakajima moved back to the Japanese racing scene by competing in Formula Nippon for 2011. Driving for the TOM'S team, he won his first race at the second round of the season, held at Autopolis, which also moved him into the lead of the drivers' standings. He ultimately finished runner-up to André Lotterer. He continued in the series for the 2012 season.

His younger brother, Daisuke, is also competing in the series.

Sportscars

Nakajima first competed in the Japanese Super GT series in 2005, driving a Toyota MR-S in the GT300 class with Minoru Tanaka. He returned to the category in 2011, driving a Lexus SC430 in the GT500 class with Formula Nippon rival Lotterer. For 2012 he continues to drive a SC430, now partnered with Loïc Duval.

Nakajima was also selected by Toyota to be one of the drivers for its assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012, driving the prototype Toyota TS030 Hybrid. During the race he hit the Nissan DeltaWing hard enough to knock it off the circuit, causing substantial damage to the Nissan, and significant damage to his own car — neither car finished the race.

At the 2012 6 Hours of Fuji, Nakajima took pole position for Toyota before triple stinting in the race to bring home the TS030's second win in competition and Nakajima's first with the team.

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Poles Wins Points Position
2003 Formula Toyota TOM'S Spirits 10 3 3 134 1st
2004 All-Japan Formula Three TOM'S 20 2 2 138 5th
Macau Grand Prix TOM'S 1 0 0 N/A 13th
Bahrain F3 Superprix TOM'S 1 0 0 N/A 7th
2005 All-Japan Formula Three TOM'S 20 3 2 209 2nd
Macau Grand Prix TOM'S 1 0 0 0 5th
Super GT (GT300) Kicchouhouzan with APR 7 0 1 52 8th
2006 Formula Three Euroseries Manor Motorsport 20 0 1 36 7th
Macau Grand Prix Manor Motorsport 1 0 0 N/A NC
Masters of Formula Three Manor Motorsport 1 0 0 N/A 26th
2007 Formula One AT&T Williams 1 0 0 0 22nd
GP2 Series DAMS 21 1 0 44 6th
2008 Formula One AT&T Williams 18 0 0 9 15th
2009 Formula One AT&T Williams 17 0 0 0 20th
2011 Formula Nippon Petronas Team TOM'S 8 0 1 42 2nd
Super GT Petronas Team TOM'S 6 0 0 28 10th
2012 Formula Nippon Petronas Team TOM'S 8 1 2 46 1st
Super GT Petronas Team TOM'S 8 0 0 40 7th
24 Hours of Le Mans Toyota Racing 1 0 0 N/A DNF
FIA World Endurance Championship Toyota Racing 3 1 1 44 13th
2013 Super Formula Petronas Team TOM'S 7 1 2 24 4th
Super GT Petronas Team TOM'S 8 1 2 60 3rd
24 Hours of Le Mans Toyota Racing 1 0 0 N/A 4th
FIA World Endurance Championship Toyota Racing 8 1 1 37.5 12th
2014 Super Formula Petronas Team TOM'S 9 1 2 46 1st
Super GT Petronas Team TOM'S 6 2 2 60 5th
24 Hours of Le Mans Toyota Racing 1 0 0 N/A DNF
FIA World Endurance Championship Toyota Racing 5 2 0 71 8th
2015 Super Formula Petronas Team TOM'S 7 0 1 45.5 2nd
FIA World Endurance Championship Toyota Racing 7 0 0 75 7th
24 Hours of Le Mans Toyota Racing 1 0 0 N/A 8th

* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points
2006 Manor Motorsport Dallara F305/062 Mercedes HOC
1

2
HOC
2

6
LAU
1

8
LAU
2

1
OSC
1

6
OSC
2

5
BRH
1

14
BRH
2

13
NOR
1

Ret
NOR
2

5
NÜR
1

9
NÜR
2

18
ZAN
1

22
ZAN
2

3
CAT
1

4
CAT
2

3
BUG
1

11
BUG
2

7
HOC
1

Ret
HOC
2

DNS
7th 36

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2007 DAMS BHR
FEA

17
BHR
SPR

6
ESP
FEA

15
ESP
SPR

7
MON
FEA

10
FRA
FEA

17
FRA
SPR

6
GBR
FEA

3
GBR
SPR

3
EUR
FEA

3
EUR
SPR

3
HUN
FEA

2
HUN
SPR

Ret
TUR
FEA

6
TUR
SPR

Ret
ITA
FEA

DSQ
ITA
SPR

18
BEL
FEA

Ret
BEL
SPR

9
VAL
FEA

3
VAL
SPR

7
6th 42

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 WDC Points
2007 AT&T Williams Williams FW29 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 AUS
TD
MAL
TD
BHR ESP MON CAN
TD
USA
TD
FRA GBR EUR HUN TUR ITA BEL JPN CHN
TD
BRA
10
22nd 0
2008 AT&T Williams Williams FW30 Toyota RVX-08 2.4 V8 AUS
6
MAL
17
BHR
14
ESP
7
TUR
Ret
MON
7
CAN
Ret
FRA
15
GBR
8
GER
14
HUN
13
EUR
15
BEL
14
ITA
12
SIN
8
JPN
15
CHN
12
BRA
17
15th 9
2009 AT&T Williams Williams FW31 Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8 AUS
Ret
MAL
12
CHN
Ret
BHR
Ret
ESP
13
MON
15
TUR
12
GBR
11
GER
12
HUN
9
EUR
18
BEL
13
ITA
10
SIN
9
JPN
15
BRA
Ret
ABU
13
20th 0

Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
2011 Petronas Team TOM'S SUZ
3
AUT
1
FUJ
3
MOT
3
SUZ
C
SUG
3
MOT
2
MOT
2
2nd 42
2012 Petronas Team TOM'S SUZ
1
MOT
3
AUT
5
FUJ
2
MOT
4
SUG
5
SUZ
12
SUZ
1
1st 46
2013 Petronas Team TOM'S SUZ
5
AUT
12
FUJ
8
MOT
1
SUG
Ret
SUZ
Ret
SUZ
1
4th 24
2014 Petronas Team TOM'S SUZ
5
FUJ
2
FUJ
3
FUJ
1
MOT
7
AUT
6
SUG
2
SUZ
2
SUZ
1
1st 46
2015 Petronas Team TOM'S SUZ
2
OKA
FUJ
2
MOT
2
AUT
1
SUG
4
SUZ
4
SUZ
2
2nd 45.5

Complete Super GT results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2005 apr Toyota MR-S GT300 OKA
4
FUJ
5
SEP
5
SUG
1
MOT
Ret
FUJ
7
AUT
Ret
SUZ
7
8th 52
2011 Petronas Team TOM'S Lexus SC430 GT500 OKA
4
FUJ
4
SEP
6
SUG
9
SUZ
6
FUJ
15
AUT
4
MOT
8
8th 39
2012 Petronas Team TOM'S Lexus SC430 GT500 OKA
5
FUJ
4
SEP
13
SUG
2
SUZ
Ret
FUJ
4
AUT
15
MOT
8
7th 40
2013 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus SC430 GT500 OKA
12
FUJ
1
SEP
11
SUG
10
SUZ
3
FUJ
12
AUT
1
MOT
5
3rd 60
2014 Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S Lexus RC F GT500 OKA
13
FUJ AUT SUG
4
FUJ
5
SUZ
1
BUR
1
MOT
10
5th 60

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2012 Japan Toyota Racing Austria Alexander Wurz
France Nicolas Lapierre
Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1 134 DNF DNF
2013 Japan Toyota Racing Austria Alexander Wurz
France Nicolas Lapierre
Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1 341 4th 4th
2014 Japan Toyota Racing Austria Alexander Wurz
France Stéphane Sarrazin
Toyota TS040 Hybrid LMP1-H 219 DNF DNF
2015 Japan Toyota Racing United Kingdom Anthony Davidson
Switzerland Sébastien Buemi
Toyota TS040 Hybrid LMP1 386 8th 8th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2012 Toyota Racing LMP1 Toyota TS030 Hybrid Toyota 3.4 L V8 (Hybrid) SEB SPA LMS
Ret
SIL
2
SÃO BHR FUJ
1
SHA 13th 44
2013 Toyota Racing LMP1 Toyota TS030 Hybrid Toyota 3.4 L V8 (Hybrid) SIL SPA
Ret
LMS
4
SÃO COA FUJ
1
SHA BHR
Ret
12th 37.5
2014 Toyota Racing LMP1 Toyota TS040 Hybrid Toyota 3.7 L V8 (Hybrid) SIL
2
SPA
3
LMS
Ret
COA FUJ
2
SHA
2
BHR SÃO 8th 71
2015 Toyota Racing LMP1 Toyota TS040 Hybrid Toyota 3.7 L V8 (Hybrid) SIL
3
SPA
WD
LMS
8
NÜR
5
COA
4
FUJ
5
SHA
6
BHR
4
7th 75

Footnotes

  1. [1]
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  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. "Nakajima targets F1 race seat in 2008" Autosport.com. Retrieved 10 November 2006
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. "Nakajima sorry for incident" Retrieved 22 October 2007
  11. Nakajima secures Williams drive BBC Sport - 7 November 2007
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula Toyota
Champion

2003
Succeeded by
Hideto Yasuoka
Preceded by Formula Nippon Champion
2012
Succeeded by
Naoki Yamamoto
(Super Formula)
Preceded by Super Formula Champion
2014
Succeeded by
Hiroaki Ishiura