Can Red Bull F1 hopeful Ayumu Iwasa 'do a Lawson' in Super Formula?
Ayumu Iwasa takes over Liam Lawson's Team Mugen ride for 2024, and hopes to put himself firmly in contention for a Formula 1 seat the following year...
All photos: JRP
It would be fair to describe Team Mugen newcomer Ayumu Iwasa as the most anticipated Japanese rookie to arrive in Super Formula for some years.
Perhaps it’s because he has never raced full-time in Japan since winning the 2019 Suzuka Racing School scholarship, having gone straight to Europe after that with the backing of Red Bull. Perhaps it’s the fact he is taking over one of the most competitive seats on the grid, the #15 Mugen car driven last year by Liam Lawson. But the biggest factor is that he is set to become the first genuine F1 candidate from Japan to race in the country’s top single-seater series since at least 2018.
Iwasa insists there’s no pressure on him to match the achievements of Lawson last year (three wins and second in the points, ahead of Mugen teammate Tomoki Nojiri). But the fact is that the New Zealander has set a very tough standard to live up to, and there’s little doubt that Iwasa’s F1 ambitions depend on him showing a similar level of performance. That begs the question: is the 22-year-old from Osaka up to the task?