Motor racing-I could have been making sushi, says Kobayashi

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Kamui Kobayashi feared his career was leading more to the kitchen of his father's sushi restaurant than Formula One until Toyota gave him the break that changed everything.

The 23-year-old Japanese driver provided one of the highlights of Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when he finished sixth after earlier passing Brawn's new world champion Jenson Button.

Standing in for injured German Timo Glock since last month's Brazilian Grand Prix, Kobayashi scored points in only his second race and beat his experienced Italian team mate Jarno Trulli into the bargain.

Toyota motorsport director John Howett suggested on Sunday night that Kobayashi was now a strong candidate to race for them next year.

The Japanese, a winner in Asian GP2 but unimpressive in the European support series, said he welcomed anything that would keep him on a race track.

Without the two races to show Toyota what he could do, he would probably have had to think about sharpening his kitchen knives.

MAKING SUSHI