Nojiri vs. Tsuboi: Is this the rivalry that could define Super Formula 2024?

Amid a major driver market shake-up, will this year's Super Formula title battle boil down to a battle of the respective top dogs in the Honda and Toyota camps?

All photos: JRP

After what feels like a particularly short off-season, the new Super Formula campaign kicks off with the opening round this weekend at Suzuka Circuit. And with so many changes to the driver line-up this year, 2024 feels like more of a reset than usual.

Gone are the top two finishers from last year, Ritomo Miyata and Liam Lawson, as well as another perennial front-runner of recent seasons, Ryo Hirakawa. In their place come two high-profile rookies from Formula 2, Theo Pourchaire and Ayumu Iwasa, who will be aware their 2025 Formula 1 hopes hinge on making an early impact.

While few are predicting the shift to common dampers to have a major impact on the competitive order, the move is still likely to create a more compressed field and perhaps more opportunities for some of the lesser teams to shine. But when it comes to picking a champion, it’s hard to look beyond the (remaining) established names.