Ayumu Iwasa is a 22-year-old Japanese Super Formula driver and a former Formula 2 driver. He recently filled in for Daniel Ricciardo from the Visa Cash App RB team during Friday’s FP1 session during the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix.
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Who is Ayumu Iwasa?
Ayumu Iwasa was born in Osaka, Japan, on September 22, 2001. His parents, who were racers, inspired his love for motorsport from a young age. They competed with a Honda Civic at circuits like the iconic Suzuka in Japan. This eventually led him into karting at the age of four.
His parents were his biggest support system, to the point where his father acted as his mechanic and his mother managed his racing career. This allowed his ambition to grow and eventually ascend to the Formula 1 series.
Rise to Formula 2
He was a part of the Suzuka Racing School under the guidance of professional talents such as Takuma Sato, who honed him to reach Formula 2 eventually. However, before reaching there, the Japanese driver has impressive accolades: the 2020 French F4 Championship, a 12th overall finish in his rookie season of 2021 FIA-F3, and a fifth overall finish for his FIA-F2 debut championship.
The Red Bull Junior Driver Development Programme took notice of Iwasa’s talent, thus marking him as a potential rising star in motorsports. He joined the prestigious programme in 2021, allowing him to be closer to his Formula 1 dream.
Shift to the Super Formula
He joined the All Japan Super Formula Championship, also known as the Super Formula, in 2024 after running in the FIA-F2 programme for a few years. Additionally, next season he plans to race for both the Honda Formula Dream Project, Honda’s driver development programme, and the Red Bull Junior Team.
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His ultimate goal, much like talents of his age and calibre, is to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship in the future.
Ayumu Iwasa: Struggles as a Japanese Driver in International Motorsport
Apart from the obvious adrenaline of driving a Formula 1 car, Iwasa made a couple of comments about his experience:
“It is a quite different feeling with an F1 car; it’s just amazing. The car has much more capacity to push, and the limit is much higher.”
When asked about the struggles of Japanese drivers in international motorsports, Japanese Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda commented:
“You have to go to Europe to race and to compete against the European drivers, so that probably makes it a little bit difficult. And obviously, the language as well. Japanese don’t speak as much good English. So it’s hard to communicate well and tell what you want specifically from the car—ssetup, for example. These things will take a little bit of time.”
Potential Formula 1 avenues for the Japanese Super Formula driver
New sources suggest Helmut Marko’s wish for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Marko announced that Red Bull intends to be promoted from their current roster should Sergio Perez be replaced due to poor performances.
He commented:
“I assume that we will primarily make use of our existing drivers… We have three juniors who are ready for Formula 1, with Liam Lawson certainly at the top of the list. Behind him, there is also Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar.”
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Rohit Kumar