Future Japanese F1 Drivers: The Pipeline to Watch
Forget chasing F1 headlines — the real story is the talent climbing toward them. Japan’s driver pipeline is deeper than it’s ever been: a Super Formula champion, an F2 contender, a teenage F3 podium-getter, all Honda-backed, with a new direct line to a works F1 team. Here’s who to watch.
Japan’s F1 standard-bearer Yuki Tsunoda reached Red Bull Racing in 2025 — but ⚠ has no race seat in 2026, serving as reserve. Behind him, the pipeline is loaded: Ayumu Iwasa (2025 Super Formula champion, Red Bull reserve), Ritomo Miyata (FIA Formula 2), and 17-year-old Taito Kato (FIA Formula 3) — all from the Honda system, which now has a direct line to recommend graduates to its works partner Aston Martin. Don’t watch the F1 news; watch the juniors.
In this guide
1. The standard-bearer: Tsunoda
2. The juniors to watch
3. The proving ground: Super Formula
4. The pathway to F1
5. A rare — and rising — pipeline
6. Where to watch
1. The standard-bearer: Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda is the proof that the Japanese system can reach the very top. A product of the Honda Formula Dream Project (Japanese F4 champion, 2018) and the Red Bull Junior Team, he debuted in F1 in 2021 and, in mid-2025, was promoted to the senior Red Bull Racing team alongside Max Verstappen — the first Japanese driver at a front-running F1 team.1
His situation is a useful reminder: reaching F1 is one thing, holding a seat in a 20-strong grid is another. But the pipeline behind him has never had more depth.
2. The juniors to watch
Three names are the ones global fans should start tracking now (categories confirmed for 2026 at the May–June research; verify before relying on them):
Juju Noda (daughter of ex-F1 driver Hideki Noda) is often wrongly linked to the all-female F1 Academy. In fact she races the full Super Formula championship — she was the first Japanese woman to do so (2024) — for her father’s Honda-powered team. Results are at the back for now, but it’s against proven pros; any F1 projection is speculative.5
3. The proving ground: Super Formula
Why does so much of this happen in Japan? Because Japan has the second-fastest single-seater series in the world.
By most measures Super Formula is the quickest single-seater after F1 — at Suzuka its lap times run only a few seconds off F1 pole. McLaren F1 reserve Pato O’Ward called it “the closest thing to a Formula One car right now.” In 2026 it pits Honda against Toyota engines directly — two F1 factory programmes clashing at home.6 Below it sits Super Formula Lights, the former Japanese F3.7
4. The pathway to F1
The Japanese route to the top now looks like this:
- Karting → Japanese / French F4 → FIA F3 or Super Formula Lights → FIA F2 or Super Formula → F1.
- The engine of it all is Honda: the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) scouts and funds drivers from karting upward, with the Honda Racing School Suzuka feeding in. Tsunoda, Iwasa and Kato all came through it.8
- Toyota runs a parallel programme — the TGR Driver Challenge — that backed Miyata, with WEC sportscars as a concurrent path.9
From 2026, Honda is the works engine partner of Aston Martin — and has said it will recommend HFDP graduates to Aston Martin for F1 seats when ready. For the first time, Japan’s junior system has a clear, direct route into a works F1 team.10
5. A rare — and rising — pipeline
Japanese F1 drivers have always been rare. The complete list is short: Satoru Nakajima (the first full-timer, 1987), Aguri Suzuki (a famous home podium in 1990), Takuma Sato, Kazuki Nakajima, Kamui Kobayashi — and now Tsunoda. None has ever won a Grand Prix.11
What’s different now is depth: a Super Formula champion, an F2 racer and an F3 teenager rising at the same time, behind a driver who has already sat in a Red Bull. With Honda’s works return and its Aston Martin link, the conditions for Japan’s first F1 race winner are the best they’ve ever been.10
6. Where to watch
- Super Formula & Super Formula Lights: the official SFgo stream (English commentary, low-cost), plus free Super Formula Lights sessions on YouTube.12
- FIA F2 / F3: they race on the F1 support bill at grand prix weekends — on F1 TV and local broadcasters.3
- Honda’s juniors: honda.racing publishes English profiles and race reports for every HFDP driver, across categories.8
The watchlist, in five lines
- Yuki Tsunoda reached Red Bull Racing in 2025 — but sits out 2026 as reserve.
- Ayumu Iwasa: 2025 Super Formula champion & F1 reserve — the closest to a seat.
- Ritomo Miyata: a make-or-break third F2 season with Hitech TGR.
- Taito Kato: a 17-year-old Honda prospect, on the podium in F3 already.
- Honda’s works link to Aston Martin (2026) gives Japan a direct line to F1.
Go deeper: how drivers climb in Japan’s motorsport ladder, the country’s top series compared in Super GT vs Super Formula, and the Japanese Grand Prix.
Japan’s next F1 driver is in this pipeline
Follow the juniors now — and plan a trip to see them at Suzuka.
Sources & notes
- Yuki Tsunoda — rise, 2025 Red Bull promotion, no 2026 seat (reserve). Wikipedia · The Race · Formula1.com
- Ayumu Iwasa — F2 record, 2025 Super Formula champion, 2026 reserve. Wikipedia · Motorsport.com
- Ritomo Miyata — 2023 SF/Super GT double champion; 2026 F2 with Hitech TGR. Wikipedia · FIA Formula 2
- Taito Kato — French F4 2024, 2026 FIA F3 with ART, debut podium. Formula Scout · Honda.Racing
- Juju Noda — Super Formula (not F1 Academy); first Japanese woman in SF. Racers Behind the Helmet
- Super Formula speed & 2026 (Honda vs Toyota). Motorsport.com · BlackBook (O’Ward) · Wikipedia
- Super Formula Lights (former Japanese F3). Feeder Series
- Honda Formula Dream Project & Racing School Suzuka. Honda.Racing · Honda Global
- Toyota TGR Driver Challenge (2026). Toyota Global
- Honda — Aston Martin works partnership 2026 & HFDP-to-F1 strategy. Honda Global · Formula1.com
- Japanese F1 drivers in history. Wikipedia
- Where to watch — SFgo & Super Formula Lights. Super Formula (official) · SF Lights YouTube
A talent landscape dated 8 June 2026 featuring public drivers only. F1 seats, reserve roles, junior-series line-ups and results change rapidly — all such items are flagged ⚠ and should be confirmed on official F1 / FIA / Super Formula sources.
🌐 More from Global · モータースポーツ
GR010 Vs Ferrari 499p / Honda In Formula 1 / How Japanese Motorsport Works / Japanese Cars At Le Mans / Rally Japan WRC / Super Formula Explained / Super GT Explained / Toyota Motorsport Story / More in モータースポーツ
📅 更新履歴
| 日付 | 変更内容 |
|---|---|
| 2026年6月8日 | 初回公開 |
| 2026年6月18日 | 情報を更新 |
✅ ファクト再検証
最終検証日：2026年6月18日
SportsPulse 編集部が公開情報をもとに内容を確認しています。情報は確認時点のものです。最新情報は各公式サイトをご確認ください。