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Born in 1985 and raised in the Japanese city of Aichi, little singled out Kazuki Nakajima for a Formula One career more than his pedigree. The son of legendary Japanese driver Satoru Nakajima, who raced for Lotus and Tyrrell in the mid 1980s and early ‘90s, Nakajima was destined for a life on four wheels almost from birth.

As such, he began his racing career early, under his father’s tutelage from the age of 11. Within three years, Nakajima had been named the Suzuka Formula ICA karting champion. He then graduated through a variety of karting championships, honing his race craft with each and every step.

His performance in the All Japan Formula A kart championship in particular attracted the attentions of the Toyota Motor Company and he was invited to become a member of the Toyota Young Driver programme. A switch to single-seater racing resulted and in 2003 he competed in - and won - the Formula Toyota series.

As champion, he made the move to Japanese Formula Three in 2004. He would win two races that first year and stuck around for a second season, when his performance would be even stronger. He eventually finished runner-up - impressive given that he was also racing in selected Japan GT events at the same time.

In 2006, he took the important step of demonstrating his talent outside of his native Japan, contesting the Formula 3 Euro Series. He did comparatively well, winning one race, and as a result was invited to join the Toyota-engined Williams team as an official tester for 2007.

He made his debut a little earlier, however, in the December test at Jerez, impressing with several competitive performances. After testing a further four times, he was invited to the first race of the ‘07 Formula One season in Melbourne as Williams’ Friday driver. Though he made a further five Grand Prix practice appearances, with testing limited his time in the car was kept to the minimum.

He kept his race skills fresh by combining his Williams duties with a drive in the GP2 for the DAMS squad, scoring six podiums and one pole position. Then, when news broke after the Chinese Grand Prix that Williams race driver Alexander Wurz would retire with immediate effect, Nakajima was immediately promoted to a race seat for the season finale in Brazil.

It was a quick turn around for the then 22 year-old, and despite running over several mechanics during a pit stop, he performed well on his competitive Formula One debut, finishing 10th and scoring the fifth-fastest lap of the race. Williams were certainly impressed and late in 2007 it was confirmed he would continue to race alongside Nico Rosberg in 2008, when he did more than enough to keep the German star honest with five point-scoring results.