The 2025 Japanese Super Formula Championship is scheduled to be the fifty-third season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the twelfth under the moniker of Super Formula. The season will start in March at Suzuka Circuit and is due to be contested over 12 rounds in seven race weekends, ending in November at Suzuka.[1]
Teams and drivers
editAll teams used identical Dallara-built SF23 chassis with either Honda or Toyota engines. Every Honda-powered car used a Honda HR-417E engine and every Toyota-powered car used a Toyota TRD-01F engine.
| Entrant | Engine | No. | Driver name |
|---|---|---|---|
 Vantelin Team TOM’S
|
Toyota | 1 | Sho Tsuboi[2]
|
| 37 |  Sacha Fenestraz
| ||
| Kondo Racing
|
Toyota | 3 | Kenta Yamashita[2]
|
| 4 |  Zak O'Sullivan
| ||
| Docomo Team Dandelion Racing
|
Honda | 5 | Tadasuke Makino[3]
|
| 6 | Kakunoshin Ohta[3]
| ||
 Kids com Team KCMG
|
Toyota | 7 | Kamui Kobayashi[2]
|
| 8 | Nirei Fukuzumi[2]
| ||
| ThreeBond Racing
|
Honda | 12 |  TBA
|
| docomo business ROOKIE
|
Toyota | 14 | Kazuya Oshima[2]
|
| Team Mugen
|
Honda | 15 | Ayumu Iwasa[3]
|
| 16 | Tomoki Nojiri[3]
| ||
| Team Impul
|
Toyota | 19 |  Oliver Rasmussen
|
| 20 | Mitsunori Takaboshi
| ||
| KDDI TGMGP TGR-DC
|
Toyota | 28 | Kazuto Kotaka
|
| 29 | Hibiki Taira
| ||
| Sanki Vertex Partners Cerumo・INGING
|
Toyota | 38 | Sena Sakaguchi[2]
|
| 39 | Toshiki Oyu[2]
| ||
| San-Ei Gen with B-Max
|
Honda | 50 | TBA
|
| PONOS Nakajima Racing
|
Honda | 64 | TBA
|
| 65 | Ren Sato[3]
|
Team changes
edit- The entry co-run by Inging Motorsport and Cerumo added another title sponsor alongside Vertex Partners, with Industrial manufacturer Sanki Shokai joining the series and the team competing under the name Sanki Vertex Partners Cerumo・INGING.[4]
- TGM Grand Prix changed both their name and their engine supplier. The team will no longer run Honda engines and instead now join ROOKIE racing in serving as Toyota Gazoo Racing's junior team, TGR-DC. The team also acquired a new title sponsor in telecommunications operator KDDI, with the team entering the 2025 season under the name KDDI TGMGP TGR-DC.[2]
Driver changes
edit- PONOS Nakajima Racing saw three-time series champion Naoki Yamamoto retire from the series after 15 seasons.[5]
- Team Impul will have an all-new line up as 2016 series champion Yuji Kunimoto retired from the series after 14 seasons and neither of the four drivers who drove the No. 19 car in 2024 returned.[6] The team signed Oliver Rasmussen, who came 19th in the WEC's Hypercar class with Jota Sport in 2024 and will make his series debut, and NISMO works driver Mitsunori Takaboshi, who will make his full-season debut after a one-off Super Formula appearance for Team Impul in 2021.[2]
- San-Ei Gen with B-Max saw Iori Kimura leave the team after Honda ended its association with him.[7]
- Vantelin Team TOM’S saw 2022 Super Formula runner-up Sacha Fenestraz return to the series after a two-year stint in Formula E with Nissan.[2] He replaces Ukyo Sasahara.
- Kondo Racing replaced TGMGP TGR-DC-bound Kazuto Kotaka with former Williams Academy driver Zak O'Sullivan, who moves to Japan after coming 16th in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix.[2]
- Newly rebranded team TGMGP TGR-DC also took on two new drivers as Juju Noda and Hiroki Otsu both left the team following its switch from Honda to Toyota engines. Kazuto Kotaka joins the team after coming 14th with Kondo Racing in his second Super Formula season in 2024. Hibiki Taira, who drove Team Impul's No. 19 car on four occasions in 2024, will complete TGMGP TGR-DC's lineup on his full-time debut in the series.[2]
Race calendar
editThe provisional calendar was announced on 1 August 2024.[1] All weekends except the ones at Autopolis and Sportsland Sugo will be double-headers, making this the longest calendar in Super Formula history. The series originally planned its first race outside Japan since 2004 with a round held at Inje Speedium.[8] These plans, however, were cancelled in October 2024. It marked the second time that a planned round at Inje was cancelled.[9]
| Round | Circuit | Location | Date | Support bill | Map of circuit locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzuka International Racing Course | Suzuka, Mie | 7–9 March | Super Formula Lights | |
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | Mobility Resort Motegi | Motegi, Tochigi | 18–20 April | ||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | Autopolis | Hita, Oita | 17–18 May | Super Formula Lights | |
| 6 | Fuji Speedway | Oyama, Shizuoka | 18–20 July | Kyojo Cup | |
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | Sportsland SUGO | Shibata, Miyagi | 9–10 August | ||
| 9 | Fuji Speedway | Oyama, Shizuoka | 10–12 October | Kyojo Cup | |
| 10 | |||||
| 11 | Suzuka International Racing Course | Suzuka, Mie | 21–23 November | ||
| 12 |
Race results & championship standings
editScoring system
edit- Race points
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- Qualifying points
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 3 | 2 | 1 |
References
edit- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (15 August 2024). "Super Formula heading to South Korea in 2025". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2025 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Klein, Jamie (11 December 2024). "Honda confirms partial 2025 Super Formula roster". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing、2025年の国内参戦体制を発表". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (5 November 2024). "Three-time champion Yamamoto retires from Super Formula". motorsport.com. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (29 November 2024). "Yuji Kunimoto announces Super Formula exit". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (13 December 2024). "Super Formula Suzuka Day 3 paddock notes". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (24 August 2024). "Super Formula confirms 2025 calendar more news". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (12 October 2024). "Super Formula scraps planned 2025 South Korea race". motorsport.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.