You do know that Kobayashi had no financial obligations to Sauber, right? For three years, he got everything you just described: a mid-range car that, if not capable of regular podiums, was certainly strong enough to showcase his talents. And showcase them he did - but the top teams clearly weren't impressed. Now, you can keep telling me that he had rotten luck, with a streak of mechanical failures and getting caught up in incidents that weren't his fault, but when everything went his way, he still couldn't deliver. In (roughly) sixty starts, he had *one* front-row start and *one* podium finish. He has more than his fair shot.