Kazuki Nakajima
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Kazuki Nakajima (born January 11, 1985 in Aichi, Japan) is a formula one race car driver for the Williams-Toyota formula one team. Nakajima, like most racers successfully made the jump from karting to Formula One racing, finally earning his break at the end of the 2007 season.
Like his teammate Nico Rosberg, Nakajima will be aiming not only to make it big in the sport but also to step out of his father's shadow---Satoru Nakajima---the first full-time Japanese driver who made his rounds in the late 1980's and played a big part in making Formula One popular in Japan. In only his first season at Williams, his inexperience will definitely be a minus but his hunger and enthusiasm as a rookie will be his advantage, if he puts it to good use.
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Personal Life
Kazuki was born in Aichi, Japan, and is best known as the son of renowned Japanese race car driver Satoru Nakajima. The 5-foot-9, 136-pound Nakajima moved out of his hometown and now resides in the United Kingdom, in Oxford. In his past time, Nakajima likes to play football or listen to music.
Career
Pre-Formula One
Being the son of renowned Japanese race car driver Satoru, it is therefore no surprise that Kazuki was introduced to the sport at a young age. His dad, who arrived in Formula One in 1987, had been backed by Honda through his career. By the time Kazuki officially burst into the racing scene in 1996---when he was 11---via karting, his dad had already moved out of the top ranks. In 1997, he competed in the RSO Championship Series, in the ICA Championship Series in 1998, then hit paydirt in 1999 after capturing the Suzuka Formula ICA title when he was only 14. He spent a couple more years in karting, competing in the Suzuka Championship Series Class FA in 2000 and in the Japan Championship Series Class 7th FA in 2001 before finally making his debut in the next level with Japanese car manufacturer Toyota picking up the junior Nakajima as part of the Young Drivers Program. By joining Toyota---rival of his father's former employer Honda---Kazuki was hoping to "shield himself against any accusations that his father had promoted his career."
In 2002, Kazuki won a scholarship in Formula Toyota, then a year later, he would go on to compete and win the Formula Toyota series championship still as part of the Toyota Young Driver programme. He shifted gears towards the Japanese Formula Three in 2004 where he won two of the twenty total races, claimed four podium finishes, and placed 5th as part of the Toyota tuner TOM's. He remained with the team for another year and went toe-to-toe with Brazilian Joao Paolo de Oliveira, eventually placing 2nd in the All-Japan Formula 3 while also competing in the SUPER GT GT300 Class where he placed 11th. His impressive showing drew attention from European teams, one of which being Manor Motorsport who eventually landed his services. He competed in the Formula Three Euro Series in 2006 and raced against Sebastian Vettel and Paul di Resta, among others, with a second place finish in the first race and a victory in the fourth. He ended the series ranked 7th behind eventual winner di Resta (86 points), and teammates Kohei Hirate (third) and Esteban Guerrieri (fourth).
Before 2006 came to an end, Nakajima was able to land a test driving job at Williams (the team that signed terms to use the Japanese company's powerplants the following season), joining Narain Karthikeyan and drivers Nico Rosberg and Alexander Wurz in the 2007 team. That same month, the Japanese got a first hand experience driving the Williams car at Fuji Speedway, completing four laps in wet conditions. While test driving for Williams the following year, completing 7,000km of testing for the team, Nakajima also continued racing for the DAMS team with Nicolas Lapierre as his teammate for the GP2 Series. Nakajima's strong performances that season were tainted with untoward incidents---including one in Istanbul where he caused a collision that removed Karun Chandhok from the lead in the sprint race---still, Nakajima managed to improve his performances through the year with five straight podium finishes and a 5th place ranking in the championship ahead of his better seasoned teammate Lapierre to make him one of the leading newcomers that season.
Formula One
Williams (2007)
When Wurz was promoted to the drivers' seat alongside Nico Rosberg, Nakajima became the lead reserve. However, 16 races later, the Australian would announce his retirement before the season ended on the 9th of October 2007, elevating Nakajima into the second driver's seat alongside Rosberg. He made his debut at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix but had some first race jitters after overshooting his box at the first pit stop which caused injuries to crew members. Nonetheless he finished his first race placed tenth and outsetting 4th placed teammate Rosberg in the fastest lap, recording the fifth fastest in the race. He ended his 1-race season ranked 22nd with no points.
Nakajima later on apologized for the accident that happened with his mechanics saying, “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.”
Later that year, it was confirmed that Nakajima had done enough to maintain his second driver's spot for the 2008 season to join Rosberg as one of the less-experienced tandem on the grid.
Results and Records
Career Summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Formula Toyota | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1st |
| 2004 | All-Japan Formula Three | TOM's | 20 | 2 | 2 | 138 | 5th |
| Macau Grand Prix | ? | 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 | N/A | 5th | |
| 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 | Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22nd |
| GP2 Series | DAMS | 21 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 5th | |
| 2008 | Formula One | Williams |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 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 | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA |
References
- Kazuki Nakajima Crash.net Profile
- Kazuki Nakajima RBS Profile
- Kazuki Nakajima Wikipedia
- Kazuki Nakajima: Japanese Son Takes the Quiet Road to Formula 1
