Kazuki Nakajima

Kazuki is the son of legendary Japanese driver, Satoru Nakajima, who was the first full time Formula 1 driver to come out of Japan. Young Kazuki Nakajima has huge boots to fill in, in his quest with the sport. WiKazuki Nakajima is the first ever full time Formula1 driver to come to the sport from Japan. The son of Japanese driver, and a legend, Satoru Nakajima, Kazuki has been brought up in an atmosphere conducive to becoming a big name in the sport.

Kazuki started racing with Karts at the age of 11. His father constantly kept a strong eye out for the young aspirant as he showed great prowess and ability to graduate through the various forms and levels of Karting. He was already becoming famous and Toyota swooped in to make him a member of their driver programme.

He didn't let anyone down as his performances went from one level to the next. He won a scholarship, in 2002, with Formula Toyota, a series that he won in the 2003 season. In 2004 and 2005, he represented Toyota in the Japanese Formula3000 series and his ability to drive was there for everyone to see.

He finished the 2006 season of the Formula3000 Euro Series, in seventh spot. His skills caught the eyes of the Toyota-Williams team and in 2007, he was brought in as their official test driver. This achievement made him the first driver from the Toyota driving school to be drafted into a team in Formula 1. The young man was allowed to race in the GP2 series in 2007, along with his original testing duties. Although he didn't win a single race in the GP2 season, he finished on the podium for an impressive 5 times, in succession. This got him the 'Rookie of the Year' tag for 2007. After Wurz retired from the sport in 2007, Kazuki was promoted into the drivers' seat for the final race of the season in Brazil. He made a hash of a few pit-stops but despite his errors, he finished at 10th place.

This helped confirm his spot with the team for 2008. With the advantage of having a famous father, Kazuki will look to live up to the reputation that he has been said to possess and despite a patchy start to his only F1 race in 2007, he will look to start 2008 with renewed confidence.