Time to take up the cudgels on behalf of F1's current favorite whipping boy, I think. It seems that everyone includes Kazuki Nakajima in their list of drivers most likely to disappear before or at the end of the year and I am once more puzzled at how the sport deals so differently with drivers in similar positions. Vettel is forgiven every mistake, Nakajima castigated even when he does well.
For pete's sake, the poor guy has had only four races so far and been in the points in Melbourne! Meanwhile Vettel has shown some promise in qualifying, only to fizzle in the races. Okay, most of that is down to lack of reliability of his car, but I give him as much leeway as STR did for Speed last year on that score. The fact remains that Nakajima has 3 points on the board in 2008, Vettel has none.
I know it is asking a lot for F1 commentators to be realistic in their assessment of drivers but, if any are really interested in a balanced viewpoint, they should have a read of Patrick Head's thoughts on Nakajima. It is no surprise that Toyota's influence on the decision for Williams to take on Kazuki as second driver is admitted - we always suspected that anyway. The more important fact is that he would never have been hired had not the team felt he was up to the job. And we all know the truth in that statement - Williams is famous for being very picky when it comes to drivers.
So is the team getting value for money? Mr Head seems reasonably satisfied, prepared to concede that the rookie has made mistakes, but also pointing out that Kazuki is learning from them. He is well aware that the potential is there and the experience gained now will pay off later in the season.
There is no doubt that Kazuki would have been better prepared for F1 had he been given another season in GP2; but the reality is that he has been pushed forward by Toyota and must sink or swim accordingly. And it seems to me that he is doing exceptionally well in the circumstances. In spite of his rookie mistake of running into Kubica in Melbourne, he still managed to finish sixth.
Turning to the Malaysian GP, I can only suggest you watch Nakajima's race on the VisionF1 replay - in the early laps, the guy is stunning, passing Barrichello and Vettel, then coming up behind Piquet and matching or bettering his every lap time. His pit stop strategy was poor, however, leaving him with a very long last stint and a heavy car as a result.
In Bahrain, the team gambled on a one-stop strategy for him that turned out to be a bad decision; Kazuki could keep up with the cars around him but could not pass. Those who criticize him at this early stage are clearly not watching carefully and are far too ready to dismiss him as virtually a pay driver, just because of the Toyota connection. I think they are in for some surprises later in the season.
And there is one significant aspect that Kazuki has been getting right, in contrast to all previous Japanese F1 drivers: he is finishing the races. Looking at his performances in each GP so far, one can see the old bugbear of Japanese lack of stamina perhaps having an influence - he tends to start well and then tail off as the race passes the midway point. That is something that he can work on, however, and I have no doubt that he will improve with experience and training. But he finishes. He does not throw it off the road and his mistakes have been minor.
That has to be a good, solid start for any rookie. Add Nakajima's known speed and the likelihood is that we are watching the development of the best Japanese F1 driver ever. Laugh if you wish, but go watch the VisionF1 replay before you do so.