Formula One team Sauber has named Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi as a driver for the 2010 season.
Kobayashi is the first driver to be named for the team, which is back in the ownership of founder Peter Sauber after BMW withdrew at the end of the 2009 campaign.
Kobayashi impressed as a fill-in driver for Toyota for the final two races of 2009, finishing sixth in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
”I am very happy that my two races in 2009 have earned me a cockpit place,” Kobayashi said in a statement on Thursday.
”I will do my very best for Peter Sauber’s team and I am proud to be able to carry on flying the Japanese flag in Formula One.” — Sapa-AP