Kamui Kobayashi has received almost £1m in donations from fans as he tries to raise funds to stay on the Formula One grid.

Kobayashi launched the Kamui Support website after Sauber confirmed Esteban Gutierrez would join the team for 2013, leaving no place for Kobayashi at the team.

Gutierrez bring backing from Mexican telecommunications giant Telmex. Sauber had already appointed Nico Hulkenberg for next season following Sergio Perez’s move to McLaren.

As of today Kobayashi has raised ¥127,863,961 (£967,000) via the website.

Lotus, Force India, Caterham and Marussia potentially have vacancies in their 2013 driver line-ups, as do HRT, though there are serious doubts over whether they will continue in F1 next year.

2013 F1 season

Image © Sauber F1 Team