Ayumu Iwasa
Japanese racing driver (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ayumu Iwasa (Japanese: 岩佐 歩夢, Hepburn: Iwasa Ayumu; Japanese pronunciation: [iɰᵝa̠sa̠ a̠jɯ̟ᵝmɯ̟ᵝ], born 22 September 2001) is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the Super Formula Championship for Team Mugen, winning the championship in 2025.
_2025_champion.jpg)
Japanese| Ayumu Iwasa | |
|---|---|
Iwasa at Suzuka Circuit in November 2025 | |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Born | 22 September 2001 Moriguchi, Osaka, Japan |
| Super Formula career | |
| Debut season | 2024 |
| Current team | Team Mugen |
| Car number | 15 |
| Starts | 25 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 12 |
| Poles | 7 |
| Fastest laps | 3 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2025 |
| Previous series | |
| Championship titles | |
| Awards | |
| 2022 | Anthoine Hubert Award |
A member of the Honda Formula Dream Project and Red Bull Junior Team, Iwasa previously competed with DAMS in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, earning the Anthoine Hubert Award[a] by finishing fifth overall in 2022 before finishing fourth the following year. He is the 2020 French F4 champion.
Junior racing career
Karting (2005–2016)
Iwasa began karting in Japan in 2005 and started competing nationally in 2014. During his karting career, he won the 2014 Suzuka Karting Championship Yamaha-SS Class and later became champion of the Suzuka Karting Championship X-30 class.[1] He also competed in the JAF Junior Karting Championship FP category.[1]
Formula 4 (2017–2020)
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]
Formula Three (2021)
At the start of 2021, Iwasa competed in the F3 Asian Championship, partnering Roy Nissany, Roman Staněk and Reece Ushijima.[8] He scored his only podium of the campaign in the first race of the fourth round at the Dubai Autodrome and ended up eighth in the championship.[9] Following the championship, Iwasa stated that he needed to "control his psyche".[10]
Iwasa's primary programme in 2021 was the FIA Formula 3 Championship, where he remained with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Roman Staněk and fellow Red Bull Junior Jak Crawford.[11] His campaign began quietly in Barcelona, where he scored his first points of the season with seventh place in Race 2.[12] He showed improved pace in Paul Ricard, qualifying eighth and crossing the line third in the opening race before a time penalty for gaining an advantage off-track dropped him to eighth.[13] He nevertheless added further points with ninth and seventh place in Race 2 and 3 respectively.[14] At the Red Bull Ring, Iwasa recovered from a difficult qualifying session to score points in the final race of the weekend, finishing sixth after being disqualified from Race 1 for failing to comply with a black-and-orange flag instruction.[15][16] His breakthrough came in Hungary, where he inherited victory in Race 1 after on-road winner Lorenzo Colombo received a post-race penalty, securing Iwasa's maiden FIA Formula 3 victory.[17][18] He added further points during the weekend with tenth place in Race 2.[19] A scoreless round in Spa-Francorchamps interrupted his momentum, but Iwasa returned to the podium in Zandvoort, finishing third in the opening race after qualifying ninth.[20] He scored minor points in Sochi, and ended the season twelfth in the championship, fourth among rookies. Iwasa also outscored both of his teammates over the course of the campaign.[21][22]
FIA Formula 2 (2022–2023)
2022
Iwasa participated in post-season testing in FIA F2 at the Yas Marina circuit with DAMS.[23] On 14 January 2022, the French outfit announced that Iwasa would race for the team during the 2022 season, partnering Roy Nissany.[24] Before his maiden F2 season, Iwasa stated that "he was too safe in F3 and [wanted] to avoid the same mistake in F2".[25]
In Bahrain, having finished second in his first free practice,[26] Iwasa started last as his car came to a halt before he could start a lap in qualifying.[27] In the sprint race, he caught the attention of many, as he stormed to his first point in eighth place in an epic drive.[28] In the feature race, Iwasa was up to eighth by lap 11, and was momentarily leading before he made his pit stop. Following a late safety car, Iwasa plummeted down from seventh with a technical issue and eventually ended 16th.[29][30] In Jeddah he qualified fifth. He finished the sprint race in that position after a battle with both Hitech Grand Prix drivers, and seventh in the feature race.[31][32]
Iwasa qualified in the top 3 for the first time in Imola, securing second.[33] He narrowly missed points in ninth place during the sprint race,[34] but had a better feature race. He dropped to third at the start but took advantage of the lap 6 safety car by pitting, which costed the other alternate strategy runners. However, he was affected by a double stop, and came out behind numerous cars, but managed to claim fifth place.[35] In Barcelona, he qualified sixth and started fourth in the sprint race (due to polesitter Calan Williams' stall). He jumped Théo Pourchaire and Jake Hughes at the start into second, and secure his maiden podium in F2 by remaining in that position.[36] In the feature race, he was unable to react and unfortunately clipped a slowing Jehan Daruvala which damaged Iwasa's front wing and forced an early pit stop on lap 4, and another on lap 8. Due to his aging tyres, he was unable to hold on to points in the end and finished 12th.[37][38]
His first non-scoring weekend came at Monaco where Iwasa initially qualified third.[39] However, his best lap was not abandoned under double-waved yellow flags, and was demoted to start 12th and seventh in the sprint and feature races respectively.[40] In the sprint race, he finished 19th albeit last after he forced Clément Novalak into the wall, earning a ten-second time penalty.[41] While fighting with Williams for tenth in the feature race, he made a failed overtake on him, and collided on the last lap.[42][43] In Baku, Iwasa qualified 13th as he crashed with ten minutes remaining.[44] Iwasa charged from 13th to eighth in a hectic sprint race.[45] In the feature race, a safety car restart on lap 14 when he the back of Jake Hughes causing front wing damage and a trip to the pits, which eventually yielded 14th place.[46]
In Silverstone, Iwasa qualified sixth. Having sat fifth for the first six laps in the sprint race, he immediately passed Jüri Vips, Daruvala and Enzo Fittipaldi in the next two laps. He was unable to chase Jack Doohan and fell short of a maiden victory by 0.9 seconds.[47][48] 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.[49] At the Red Bull Ring, Iwasa qualified fourth. In the sprint race, Iwasa forced Logan Sargeant whilst defending and earned a five-second penalty post race. He ended in eighth place, but was demoted to tenth.[50] In the feature race on a drying track, Iwasa opted to start on wet tyres but it did not pay off, instead pitting at the end of lap 7 for dry tyres to the end. He eventually finished in seventh.[51]
He qualified second in Paul Ricard behind Sargeant.[52][53] He added a point to his tally by scoring sixth place in the sprint race.[54] In the feature race, he passed Sargeant but Doohan both passed him and Iwasa altogether. Despite that, he would re-overtake Doohan for the lead. Iwasa's pace would be superior, taking his maiden win by nearly nine seconds.[55][56][57] In Budapest, Iwasa continued his form by taking his first pole by an astonishing four tenths of a second.[58][59] In the sprint race, he finished eighth from tenth courtesy of the two Prema cars having problems of their own.[60] In the feature race, he dropped to third after being passed by Marcus Armstrong and Pourchaire. However, he was jumped by Enzo Fittipaldi but also jumped Armstrong in the pit stops. He managed to hold on to third place and his fourth podium from a charging Frederik Vesti.[61][62] Heading into the final four rounds, the Japanese racer sat seventh in the standings with 90 points.[63]
In Spa-Francorchamps, Iwasa qualified 13th. Having finished just outside the points in the sprint race, he bounced back with a feature race with seventh by going on the alternate strategy, which paid off by overtaking many rivals during the end.[64][65] He qualified fifth in Zandvoort,[66] and finished sixth in the sprint.[67] In the feature race, Iwasa remained fifth at the start, but managed to jump Dennis Hauger in the pit stops. Trouble for Doohan ahead meant that Iwasa could steer for third place.[68][69]
In Monza, Iwasa qualified seventh. However, a chance to improve his lap was interrupted by crashing at the final corner in Parabolica.[70] Starting fourth, Iwasa struggled in the sprint race and slipped back to finish 12th, later being demoted to 16th due to gaining time off-track.[71] In the feature race, Iwasa avoided all chaos and was up in a net second place by lap 11. He was soon overtaken by Frederik Vesti a lap later, and remained in third until the chequered flag.[72][73] However, Iwasa was disqualified from the race as the plank on his car was below the thickness required.[74] Iwasa took his second pole position at the final round in Yas Marina.[75][76] After not scoring points in the sprint race, Iwasa duly claimed his second win of the year, despite a late charge from champion Felipe Drugovich.[77][78] Iwasa ended the season fifth in the standings with 141 points, scored two wins and a total of six podiums.[79][80] Despite being only second highest of all rookies, he was presented with the Anthoine Hubert Award.[81]
2023
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Iwasa continued with DAMS for the 2023 campaign, alongside Ferrari Driver Academy member Arthur Leclerc.[82] Iwasa qualified seventh for the Bahrain opening round, and ended the sprint race in fourth.[83][84] He struggled in the feature race but secured eighth place.[85] 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.[86][87] Iwasa finished fourth in the feature race, and thus was the only driver to score points in all four of the opening two rounds.[88][89] Iwasa took his first pole of the year in Melbourne.[90][91] His points streak would come to an end after a broken front wing on the opening lap of the sprint,[92] but in the feature race Iwasa controlled things perfectly for the win and the standings lead.[93][94] 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.[95][96]
In Monaco, Iwasa qualified in ninth. He would inherit the lead after Isack Hadjar suffered mechanical issues ahead, and go on to win comfortably.[97][98] He finished tenth in the feature race, after a late red flag saw drivers aheadwho did not pit make up positions.[99] 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.[100] 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.[101] In Austria, Iwasa had his worst qualifying of the year yet, down in 16th. A wrong tyre choice meant that he finished in 11th.[102] 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.[103][104]
In Silverstone, Iwasa qualified in third having topped practice.[105][106] In the sprint race, he encountered a problem and dropped to 21st place right on the first lap, and would finish there.[107] 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.[108] 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.[109] 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.[110] 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.[111] 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.[112] Iwasa was then given a five-place grid penalty for the next race.[113]
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.[114][115] Iwasa qualified 15th in Monza, and retired from the sprint race due to a car issue.[116] 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.[117] Needing to have take maximum points to even have a chance of winning the title,[118] Qualifying fifth for the Abu Dhabi season finale, he finished eighth in the sprint race.[119] Struggling throughout the feature race, Iwasa would inherit two positions on the last lap and finish in fourth.[120] He concluded the season fourth in the standings, amassing 165 points, one pole, three wins and three other podiums.[121]
Formula One and Super Formula career
Formula One
At the beginning of 2021, Iwasa was officially announced as a Red Bull Junior.[122]
Iwasa made his F1 test debut in November 2023, driving the AlphaTauri AT04 during the young drivers' test.[123] Despite a late car issue, the Japanese driver wrapped up 96 laps to put him 15th overall.[124]
Iwasa made his debut in an official Formula One race weekend for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, driving for RB in the first practice session in place of Daniel Ricciardo.[125] He placed 16th in his F1 debut, a second behind his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.[126] Later that year, Iwasa participated in free practice during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, finishing the session in 17th.[127][128] He drove the VCARB 01 again during the young drivers' test, completing 110 laps overall.[129]
At the start of the year, Iwasa took part in a private test, driving the AlphaTauri AT04 at the Imola Circuit.[130] Iwasa also participated in the first free practice session for the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, driving for Red Bull Racing in place of Max Verstappen.[131][132] In late June, Iwasa once again drove the AT04 in Imola as part of a testing of previous car (TPC) programme.[133] He participated in further free practice sessions with Racing Bulls at the Mexico City and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[134][135] Iwasa then drove for Red Bull during the Yas Marina post-season test, completing 121 laps.[136]
Iwasa continued as the test and reserve driver for Racing Bulls during the 2026 season.[137] He competed in his first free practice session of the year with Red Bull at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.[138][139]
Super Formula (2024–present)
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.[140] Despite seeing it as a negative career move, he eventually felt as a "meaningful step up".[141] In just his second race in Autopolis, Iwasa secured his first pole.[142] Wheelspin at the start saw him lose the lead to Tadasuke Makino, and settled there as he collected his first podium of the campaign.[143] He again finished runner-up the following round in Sportsland Sugo in a race that ended early due to a crash.[144] However, a disastrous start in the first Fuji round left Iwasa 11th at the flag, calling the team to "get its act together".[145] Despite that, the first race during the second Fuji round yielded yet another second placed podium.[146] A disappointing end to the season in the second Suzuka round, owing to poor starts left Iwasa finishing the races ninth and seventh respectively.[147] 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.[148]
2026 season
Iwasa continued with Team Mugen for the 2026 season after winning the title the previous year.
Personal life
Iwasa is a graduate of Osaka International Senior High School.[149] Iwasa hails from a family with a history in motorsport; both of his parents participated in Honda Civic spec races in the 1990s, and his grandfather also raced competitively.[150]
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | F4 Japanese Championship | B-Max Racing Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28th |
| Asian Formula Renault Series | Asia Racing Team | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 13th | |
| 2018 | F4 Japanese Championship | Rn-sports | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17th |
| 2019 | Super Taikyū - ST-4 | Tracy Sports SPV Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65‡ | 5th‡ |
| 2020 | French F4 Championship | FFSA Academy | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 338 | 1st |
| 2021 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Hitech Grand Prix | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 12th |
| F3 Asian Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 8th | ||
| 2022 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | DAMS | 28 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 141 | 5th |
| 2023 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | DAMS | 26 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 165 | 4th |
| 2024 | Super Formula | Team Mugen | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 63.5 | 5th |
| Formula One | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | Test driver | |||||||
| 2025 | Super Formula | Team Mugen | 12 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 124 | 1st |
| Formula One | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Test driver | |||||||
| Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | Test and reserve driver | ||||||||
| 2026 | Super Formula | Team Mugen | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 37.5 | 2nd* |
| Formula One | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | Test and reserve driver | |||||||
* Season still in progress.
‡ Team standings.
Complete F4 Japanese Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
Complete French F4 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete F3 Asian Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | DAMS | BHR SPR 8 |
BHR FEA 16 |
JED SPR 6 |
JED FEA 7 |
IMO SPR 9 |
IMO FEA 5 |
CAT SPR 2 |
CAT FEA 12 |
MCO SPR 19 |
MCO FEA 17† |
BAK SPR 8 |
BAK FEA 14 |
SIL SPR 2 |
SIL FEA 12 |
RBR SPR 10 |
RBR FEA 7 |
LEC SPR 6 |
LEC FEA 1 |
HUN SPR 8 |
HUN FEA 3 |
SPA SPR 9 |
SPA FEA 7 |
ZAN SPR 6 |
ZAN FEA 3 |
MNZ SPR 16 |
MNZ FEA DSQ |
YMC SPR 13 |
YMC FEA 1 |
5th | 141 |
| 2023 | DAMS | BHR SPR 4 |
BHR FEA 8 |
JED SPR 1 |
JED FEA 4 |
MEL SPR 13 |
MEL FEA 1 |
BAK SPR Ret |
BAK FEA 12 |
MCO SPR 1 |
MCO FEA 10 |
CAT SPR 8 |
CAT FEA 4 |
RBR SPR 11 |
RBR FEA 2 |
SIL SPR 21 |
SIL FEA 5 |
HUN SPR 2 |
HUN FEA 4 |
SPA SPR 7 |
SPA FEA Ret |
ZAN SPR 13 |
ZAN FEA 13 |
MNZ SPR Ret |
MNZ FEA 2 |
YMC SPR 8 |
YMC FEA 4 |
4th | 165 | ||
Complete Super Formula results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Team Mugen | Honda | SUZ 9 |
AUT 21 |
SUG 2‡2 |
FUJ 112 |
MOT 7 |
FUJ 2 |
FUJ 6 |
SUZ 92 |
SUZ 7 |
5th | 63.5 | |||
| 2025 | Team Mugen | Honda | SUZ 22 |
SUZ 32 |
MOT Ret |
MOT 3 |
AUT Ret |
FUJ 3 |
FUJ 2 |
SUG 11 |
FUJ 21 |
SUZ Ret1 |
SUZ 4 |
SUZ 11 |
1st | 124 |
| 2026 | Team Mugen | Honda | MOT 2‡1 |
MOT 8 |
SUZ 131 |
SUZ 22 |
FUJ |
FUJ 1 |
FUJ |
SUG |
FUJ |
FUJ |
SUZ |
SUZ |
2nd* | 37.5 |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.
Complete Formula One participations
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | RB VCARB 01 | Honda RBPTH002 1.6 V6 t | BHR | SAU | AUS | JPN TD |
CHN | MIA | EMI | MON | CAN | ESP | AUT | GBR | HUN | BEL | NED | ITA | AZE | SIN | USA | MXC | SAP | LVG | QAT | ABU TD |
– | – |
| 2025 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull RB21 | Honda RBPTH003 1.6 V6 t | AUS | CHN | JPN | BHR TD |
SAU | MIA | EMI | MON | ESP | CAN | AUT | GBR | BEL | HUN | NED | ITA | AZE | SIN | USA | – | – | |||||
| Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | Racing Bulls VCARB 02 |
Honda RBPTH003 1.6 V6 t | MXC TD |
SAP | LVG | QAT | ABU TD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull RB22 |
Red Bull Ford DM01 1.6 V6 t | AUS | CHN | JPN | MIA | CAN | MON | BCN TD |
AUT | GBR | BEL | HUN | NED | ITA | ESP | AZE | SIN | USA | MXC | SAP | LVG | QAT | ABU | – | – | ||
Notes
- The Anthoine Hubert award is FIA Formula 2's equivalent of a rookie of the year award, named after Anthoine Hubert.