Kamui Kobayashi fears his chances of securing a drive for the 2013 Formula 1 season are narrowing as he continues to search for a sponsor.
The Japanese driver was asked for financial backing in order to stay at Sauber, which is set to announce Mexican Esteban Gutierrez as Nico Hulkenberg's teammate for next year. Sauber said it will name its second driver during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
With Kobayashi still seeking sponsorship, he reckons he has a better chance of being on the grid in 2014 than next year.
"My future? Well, if I could win it would be fantastic," the Japanese driver joked at Interlagos on Thursday. "This is Formula 1. I need to work it out. Overall, I think there is a bigger chance of a top team in 2014. We'll see. I'm working very hard to get a sponsor."
Kobayashi was coy when asked about Sauber's planned announcement this weekend.
"At the moment, I think it's very difficult to say anything about the future," he added. "If I say too much there is no point for them to announce anything. Someone said Monisha [Kaltenborn, team boss] will announce it this weekend but I don't know. At the moment I can't say anything about it. I don't know what they want to announce."