Former Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima, who saw his 2010 race hopes collapse when the Serbian Stefan GP team were denied an entry into this year's championship, has vowed to continue to work on a "quick return" to the sport.
Nakajima lost his drive with Williams at the end of 2009 after two disappointing seasons with the Grove-based team, but was signed by Stefan GP to drive for the team in 2010, even though the Serbian squad did not have an official entry.
His position with the team was believed to be a condition of the deal that saw Toyota sell their 2010 car designs to the Serbian squad as the basis for their 2010 car.
But despite the collapse of the USF1 team's 2010 plans, the FIA chose not to promote Stefan GP onto the entry list, even though the team claimed to be ready to race.
The future of the Serbian team is now unclear. They had planned to test their S-01 car in 2010 if their entry plans fell through, but a proposed pre-season test at the Portimao track in Portugal was abandoned when the team failed to secure a supply of Bridgestone tyres to run on.
The Stefan GP website has no official news since their statement at the end of February re-confirming the team's "desire and, importantly, its ability to compete in the whole of the FIA 2010 Formula One World Championship."
But Nakajima has refused to let the Stefan GP issues affect his optimism, and insists that he will continue to work on a plan to return to F1 racing as soon as possible.
"With Stefan GP not gaining approval my plans are unclear," Nakajima explained in a statement on his official website, "I will continue to work to find a way back to the world level."
He added that he was still positive that an opportunity would come along in the near future.
"That's the nature of the sport," Nakas shrugged about the Stefan GP situation.
"I will keep looking forward and spend some time below the surface keeping busy and concentrating on how to secure a quick return."
With Nakajima having dropped off the grid, and former Honda man Takuma Sato moving to IndyCar after his efforts to find a 2010 seat failed, Kamui Kobayashi will be the only Japanese driver present on the 2010 grid.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
