When asked about this by the reporters present at BMW Sauber's car launch in Valencia, Kobayashi replied “I had them, but do I have to mention the names?” according to a report from Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
He then continued by explaining the media that he would be more than happy to share the names with whom he had been in contact with prior to his Sauber deal, but contractual obligations prevent him from doing that.
“I would be happy to be open with you, but as you can see, I am not allowed to speak!” said the former Toyota driver, while smiling at his manager from across the room.
As BMW Sauber, Renault F1 was – and still is – also in need of sponsorship money for their 2010 campaign. Signing Kobayashi would have solved their problem, as the 24-year old's great run with Toyota during the closing stages of the 2009 season attracted some decent backing from former Toyota F1 title sponsor Panasonic.
This was actually one of Kobayashi's main assets when coming to the negotiations table with Peter Sauber, as his inking a deal with the Swiss team came with Panasonic sponsor money. Renault F1 managed to recover well from the faild Kobayashi negotiations, as they signed Russian driver Vitaly Petrov for the 2010 campaign.
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