07-05-2025
At Toyota Gazoo Racing, Kamui Kobayashi Is the Boss and a Driver
Kamui Kobayashi has been racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the F.I.A. World Endurance Championship for nine years, winning the championship twice. He will be behind the wheel for the team in the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday.
And since 2022, he has also been the team principal. While team leaders like Toto Wolff of Mercedes and Christian Horner of Red Bull in Formula 1 came up as drivers, Kobayashi holds a rare dual role on such a high-profile team.
'I was obviously quite surprised as I didn't expect it,' Kobayashi said of being offered the role. 'I'm proud, and I appreciate the opportunity. For sure it's not easy to be doing things together at the same time, but at the end of the day I adjusted and it's gone well. I'm not going to do everything myself, we have a lot of guys at the team.
'I'm still passionate for driving fast cars as much as I can,' he said, joking that he just needs extra time in each day.
