Spyker
F1 team boss, Colin Kolles has defended the teams' somewhat surprising decision to sign Sakon Yamamoto as the permanent replacement for Christijan Albers.
Although a number of drivers' were rumoured to be in the frame to step into the car formerly driven by Albers - including
Honda third driver, Christian Klien and
Williams tester, Narain Karthikeyan, in the end Yamamoto got the nod, even though he didn't achieve very much last season with
Super Aguri - nor for that matter has he done much this year in
Formula 1's feeder series, GP2, where he had been competing with BCN.
“Sakon is a very good all-round package. We were very clear that the driver we chose needed to bring a certain financial benefit, but needed to have good, relevant experience too. Sakon has both covered,” Kolles insisted. “He has driven on all of the circuits we are going to in the second half of the season, except for Spa, which will be an advantage to the team as we move forward.”
Pressed on if he thought Yamamoto and
Adrian Sutil will make a strong pairing, Kolles added that in his view the two should compliment each other, even if they are both pretty inexperienced.
“Yes, I would like to think they are a strong pairing. Adrian has experience of the car and is very well-integrated in the team, while Sakon has experience of the circuits we go to now,” Kolles continued.
“On a personal level, they are also both eager to do well and demonstrate they can race at the highest level of motorsport. This kind of hunger and enthusiasm can only be good for us as this is when a driver gets the most out of the car.”
