Why Ayumu Iwasa has to make his second year in Super Formula count
A look at why Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa faces a critical sophomore Super Formula season for his hopes of becoming a Formula 1 driver... (Photos: JRP)
Several drivers go into the new Super Formula season in need of a strong campaign to secure their futures, but perhaps none more so than Red Bull-backed Ayumu Iwasa.
The 23-year-old from Osaka has been getting closer and closer to his ultimate goal of a race seat in Formula 1, climbing the European single-seater ladder and becoming part of the test driver pool for Red Bull’s second F1 team, now known as Racing Bulls, last year, while also tackling Super Formula with Team Mugen for the first time. But he was unable to do enough to convince Red Bull of his worthiness of a race drive.
Instead, he’ll be tackling another year of Super Formula in 2025 in Mugen’s #15 car, while serving as the official Racing Bulls reserve, which will entail two FP1 sessions on grand prix weekends as well as outings in previous-generation machinery, such as his appearance at the wheel of a 2023-spec AT04 at Imola last week.
For a time, it wasn’t clear whether Iwasa would be back for another crack at Super Formula, with his place at Mugen thrown into doubt by the news of Red Bull’s impending split with the team. But with some help from Honda and Mugen’s partner team in SUPER GT, ARTA, the money was eventually found to keep Iwasa in his #15 seat for another season alongside two-time series champion Tomoki Nojiri.
Speaking at the post-season test at Suzuka last month, shortly after the news was made official, Iwasa told Japan Racing Insider: “Next year will be a ‘revenge’ year for me. It’s good to have this kind of feeling, because I have a big frustration. I know what I need to do and what we need to do as a team for next season.”
But after hopes of a Liam Lawson-style title challenge failed to materialise last year, the question now is whether Iwasa can make the leap necessary to challenge for a title in year two, and give himself the best possible chance of an F1 seat in the process.