Ayumu Iwasa

2017–2019: Racing in Japan

Iwasa made his single-seater debut in 2017, contesting two rounds of the F4 Japanese Championship with B-Max Racing and finishing fifteenth in both races. He also competed in two races of the Asian Formula Renault Series, taking pole position for both and finishing runner-up on each occasion. In 2018, Iwasa returned for a part-time campaign in Japanese F4, with Rn-Sports, scoring points on his debut weekend, and later finished third in the final round of the JAF F4 Suzuka Series.

In 2019, Iwasa contested the Suzuka Racing School Single Seater Series and won the championship, earning support from Honda's driver development programme.

2020: French F4 champion

For 2020, Iwasa joined the French F4 Championship as a Honda Junior Driver.^[2] He immediately established himself as the title favourite by winning two of the opening three races.^[3][4] After a winless second round at Magny-Cours, he dominated the remainder of the season, claiming two victories in each of the next three rounds. Iwasa secured the championship with three races remaining after taking a double pole position during the final round at Paul Ricard.^[5] Over the season, he scored nine victories, five pole positions and fifteen podium finishes, finishing on the podium in every round and never placing lower than sixth in a race.^[6][7]

2022

Iwasa stepped up to Formula 2 with DAMS IN 2022, alongside Roy Nissany.^[23] Ahead of his debut season, Iwasa stated that he intended to adopt a more aggressive approach than he had in Formula 3.^[24] In the Bahrain opener, a car issue confined him to last in qualifying.^[25] Iwasa recovered impressively to score a point on his Formula 2 debut by climbing to eighth in the sprint race,^[26] although a technical problem denied him further points in the feature race after he had briefly led the race.^[27][28] He continued to impress in Jeddah with points finishes in both races after qualifying fifth.^[29][30] In Imola, Iwasa secured a front-row start^[31] and converted it into fifth place in the feature race despite losing time during a double-stack pit stop.^[32] He earned his first Formula 2 podium in Barcelona, finishing second after making up places in the reverse-grid sprint.^[33] Contact with Jehan Daruvala early in the feature race, however, forced an unscheduled pit stop and left him outside the points.^[34][35]

Monaco proved to be his first scoreless weekend after a qualifying infringement relegated him to starts outside the top 10 for both races.^[36][37][38] Further incidents in both races compounded a difficult weekend,^[39][40] though he returned to the points in Baku by recovering to eighth in the sprint race.^[41] In the feature race, he sustained damage following contact during a safety car restart, and placed fourteenth.^[42] In Silverstone, Iwasa finished second in the sprint race after overtaking three rivals in quick succession, narrowly missing out on victory to Jack Doohan.^[43][44] In the feature race, Iwasa had a good getaway at the start, jumping to fourth but a terrible pit stop saw him far from the frontrunners and he finished in 12th.^[45] In Austria, a penalty for forcing Logan Sargeant off the circuit dropped him out of the points in the sprint race,^[46] though he recovered to seventh in the feature despite starting on wet tyres on a drying track.^[47] Iwasa's breakthrough victory came in Paul Ricard after qualifying on the front row.^[48][49] He finished sixth in the sprint^[50] before controlling the feature race to secure his maiden Formula 2 win by almost nine seconds.^[51][52][53] He maintained his momentum in Hungary, taking his first Formula 2 pole position^[54][55] before finishing third in the feature race,^[56][57] leaving him seventh in the standings at the summer break.^[58]

Iwasa continued his consistent run with seventh in the Spa-Francorchamps feature race after an alternate strategy recovery,^[59][60] before claiming a third-placed podium in the Zandvoort feature race after qualifying fifth.^[61][62][63] In Monza, Iwasa qualified seventh after a crash at the Parabolica corner.^[64] Starting fourth, he made up positions in the feature race and was initially set for back-to-back third places,^[65][66] but was later disqualified after the plank on his car was found to be below the minimum thickness.^[67] He responded by taking his second pole position of the season in Yas Marina^[68][69] and converted it into his second victory, holding off newly crowned champion Felipe Drugovich in the feature race.^[70][71] Iwasa finished fifth in the championship with 141 points, recording two victories and six podiums.^[72][73] Despite ending the season as the second-highest placed rookie, he was awarded the Anthoine Hubert Award.^[74]

2023

Iwasa continued with DAMS for the 2023 campaign, alongside Ferrari Driver Academy member Arthur Leclerc.^[75] Iwasa qualified seventh for the Bahrain opening round, and ended the sprint race in fourth.^[76][77] He struggled in the feature race but secured eighth place.^[78] In Jeddah, he did one place better in qualifying, and in the sprint race, he shot into the lead by overtaking three rivals on the opening lap. He was put under intense pressure from behind, but managed take his first win of the season.^[79][80] Iwasa finished fourth in the feature race, and thus was the only driver to score points in all four of the opening two rounds.^[81][82] Iwasa took his first pole of the year in Melbourne.^[83][84] His points streak would come to an end after a broken front wing on the opening lap of the sprint,^[85] but in the feature race Iwasa controlled things perfectly for the win and the standings lead.^[86][87] Iwasa struggled in Baku after a poor qualifying left him down in 17th and finished both races outside the points, dropping to third in the standings.^[88][89]

In Monaco, Iwasa qualified in ninth. He would inherit the lead after Isack Hadjar suffered mechanical issues ahead, and go on to win comfortably.^[90][91] He finished tenth in the feature race, after a late red flag saw drivers aheadwho did not pit make up positions.^[92] Iwasa qualified fourth Barcelona, and contact in the sprint race dropped him to tenth. He managed to find his form and work his way to eighth.^[93] In the feature race, Iwasa passed Théo Pourchaire following the pit stops, but towards the end was overtaken by a faster Victor Martins, forced to settle with fourth.^[94] In Austria, Iwasa had his worst qualifying of the year yet, down in 16th. A wrong tyre choice meant that he finished in 11th.^[95] Opting on the alternate strategy for the feature race, luck was on his side as teammate Leclerc brought on the safety car, and both pitted jumping the lead alternate strategy runner Enzo Fittipaldi, who missed the pit entry. He would charge all the way to second place and nearly taking the win away from Richard Verschoor.^[96][97]

In Silverstone, Iwasa qualified in third having topped practice.^[98][99] In the sprint race, he encountered a problem and dropped to 21st place right on the first lap, and would finish there.^[100] He had a good start in the feature race, nearly taking the lead from Martins. On lap 16, he was pushed wide by Zane Maloney as he overtook him, which caused Iwasa to lose a further two positions. He managed to end in fifth place.^[101] Iwasa qualified sixth in Hungary, and a terrific start from fifth moved him to second in the sprint race, where he scored yet another podium.^[102] He opted for the alternate strategy during the feature race which rewarded with a higher finish, ending in fourth place after passing Isack Hadjar late on.^[103] Iwasa was unlucky during Spa-Francorchamps qualifying, securing only 16th due to unpredictable rain weather. He made up for lost positions by charging to seventh place in the sprint race.^[104] However the feature race was much less successful, as Iwasa spun on the first lap, and was taken out after being collected by Dennis Hauger.^[105] Iwasa was then given a five-place grid penalty for the next race.^[106]

Iwasa had a weekend to forget in Zandvoort, the sprint race cancelled due to heavy rain and his feature race was compromised after early contact with Kush Maini.^[107][108] Iwasa qualified 15th in Monza, and retired from the sprint race due to a car issue.^[109] His feature race was action-packed, having briefly led the race yet to pit in a safety car-strewn race. After pitting, he was soon up to third, and completed his charge by passing Pourchaire to claim second place.^[110] Needing to have take maximum points to even have a chance of winning the title,^[111] Qualifying fifth for the Abu Dhabi season finale, he finished eighth in the sprint race.^[112] Struggling throughout the feature race, Iwasa would inherit two positions on the last lap and finish in fourth.^[113] He concluded the season fourth in the standings, amassing 165 points, one pole, three wins and three other podiums.^[114]

2024 season

Iwasa left Formula 2 and moved back to Japan in 2024 for Super Formula, joining Team Mugen alongside two-time series champion Tomoki Nojiri.^[133] Despite seeing it as a negative career move, he eventually felt as a "meaningful step up".^[134] In just his second race in Autopolis, Iwasa secured his first pole.^[135] Wheelspin at the start saw him lose the lead to Tadasuke Makino, and settled there as he collected his first podium of the campaign.^[136] He again finished runner-up the following round in Sportsland Sugo in a race that ended early due to a crash.^[137] However, a disastrous start in the first Fuji round left Iwasa 11th at the flag, calling the team to "get its act together".^[138] Despite that, the first race during the second Fuji round yielded yet another second placed podium.^[139] A disappointing end to the season in the second Suzuka round, owing to poor starts left Iwasa finishing the races ninth and seventh respectively.^[140] Iwasa ended the season fifth in the standings with 63.5 points, with a total of three podiums.

2025 season

Iwasa continued with Team Mugen for the 2025 season. During this season, he won the Drivers' Championship.^[141]

2026 season

Iwasa continued with Team Mugen for the 2026 season after winning the title the previous year.