Former F1 star Kamui Kobayashi makes his feelings clear on a potential 2025 NASCAR return - “I want to race an oval race at some point”

Former Formula 1 star Kamui Kobayashi has shared his thoughts on possibly racing in NASCAR again. While Kobayashi opened up about wanting to compete on ovals, he is not sure when the opportunity might arise due to his busy schedule.

Kobayashi is a 38-year-old Japanese professional racecar driver who competed in F1 around the 2010s. He also had two starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with 23XI Racing under the Toyota camp, though he finished outside the top 20 on both tries.

Speaking with motorsport journalist Dalton Hopkins on X (formerly Twitter) at the Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24, Kamui Kobayashi said he wanted to race around ovals in the future.

"I want to race an oval race at one point," Kobayashi stated.

When asked about him possibly returning to NASCAR soon, he replied:

"Not yet so far. We have been getting more projects around, and I think if I have the opportunity I want to do it, of course. But this year's project so far, we're going to be quite busy more than last year so I think it's going to be challenging to achieve this in this year but if in the future... if I have an opportunity, I would do it.

Kobayashi debuted in the Cup Series in the 2023 Verizon 200 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Driving the No. 67 23XI Toyota, the Japanese driver finished 33rd after starting 28th, with Michael McDowell winning the race.

His second start was another road course race at the Circuit of the Americas last year where he drove 23XI's No. 50 car to a P29 finish.

Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 50 Toyota at COTA last year - Source: Imagn

Kamui Kobayashi is currently the team principal and driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing at the FIA World Endurance Racing (WEC), a global endurance racing series similar to America's IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Ahead of the 2025 WEC season, the driver is taking part in the Rolex 24 with Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing. He will drive the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R in pursuit of his third victory in the 24-hour race around Daytona.

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"He's faster than Tyler Reddick": Denny Hamlin on Kamui Kobayashi ahead of 2024 COTA race

23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin spoke about Kamui Kobayashi's speed ahead of the Circuit of the Americas race weekend last year. Hamlin said Kobayashi was faster than 23XI full-time driver Tyler Reddick on the simulator.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver stated:

"In the sim he's just so fast. I mean, he's faster than Tyler, Tyler's faster than me. When it comes to that, driving on the simulator on road course, he backed it up on the race track."

Kamui Kobayashi alongside NASCAR drivers at COTA last year - Source: Imagn

Kobayashi may be faster than Reddick on the sim but the latter driver got the better race result. The Japanese driver finished 29th, while the No. 45 pilot completed the top five behind two Toyota drivers (Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs).