Turning to Fuoco, Kobayashi said: “You have to explain how I overtook you in the night — you know, I overtook you going to Indianapolis [corner] in the middle of the night.”
He went on: “You know, I overtook him and I did this in the window,” as he held two fingers up to a laughing Fuoco.
“He knew, he saw me,” added Kobayashi, almost in disbelief. “We looked at each other because when I do this [holding his two fingers up again] he put his face [nodding] – ‘Yes’.
“After the race, he asked, ‘It was you?’
“Over 320km/h (200mph) to go into Indianapolis in the night is very impressive. It was my highlight of the ’24 Le Mans.”
Kobayashi on the podium with a family-friendly gesture
Toyota
Kobayashi’s No7 Toyota team had No50 Ferrari in its sights at Le Mans
Charly Lopez / DPPI
Kobayashi told Motor Sport that he didn’t make a habit of insulting the many drivers he passes in racing, but he does have fun in other ways,
“Sometimes I joke with my engineer,” he said.