Tag: Super Formula

Bearman says Super Formula ‘feels like Formula 1 without DRS’

Haas F1’s Oliver Bearman departed Suzuka Circuit having accomplished all that he set out to in a guest appearance at Friday’s Super Formula rookie test day. Through the strategic alliance between Haas and Toyota Gazoo Racing that was unveiled …

Haas F1’s Oliver Bearman departed Suzuka Circuit having accomplished all that he set out to in a guest appearance at Friday’s Super Formula rookie test day.

Through the strategic alliance between Haas and Toyota Gazoo Racing that was unveiled earlier this year, Bearman was able to drive around the famous figure-eight circuit in Japan ahead of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix in April. He got to drive one of KCMG’s two Toyota-powered Dallara SF23s — specifically, the car that was driven by Toyota’s WEC ace Kamui Kobayashi.

The 19-year-old British driver gave ringing endorsements to both the circuit and the car after 43 laps around Suzuka.

“I had so much fun. My first time in Suzuka, and I was really happy to run here,” Bearman said. “It’s a very high-speed track, and the Super Formula car was amazing to drive as well.

“It’s much lighter than Formula 2, but the chassis is the same. The dimensions are very similar but the car is much lighter. So definitely in slow-speed corners, you feel it’s much more agile. The Super Formula is a bit slower on the straights because there is no DRS in Super Formula, but in the corners, the downforce is impressive — I could dance with that car today.

“Compared to F1, of course, it’s a bit slower. But the thing that impressed me the most about the Super Formula is the cornering ability. It’s very agile. The change of direction is very fast. It’s much, much lighter than a Formula 1 car. Of course, we are missing a bit of downforce overall, but the driving style is very similar to Formula 1. It just feels like a Formula 1 without DRS, so it’s really, really nice.”

Because he’d driven three races in F1 already as a relief driver for Ferrari and Haas, Bearman could no longer take part in the young driver tests at Abu Dhabi after the season. But he could take part in Super Formula’s last day of a three-day official test, alongside other rookie drivers hoping to land a full-time seat in the Japanese series in the near future.

His time behind the wheel was productive, despite a minor mechanical issue in his No. 7 KCMG Dallara-Toyota, and any apprehension he might have had trying to communicate with his Japanese engineers quickly dissipated as both parties communicated in fluent English.

“For sure, it’s been a great test – really useful. I’m sad that I didn’t get to to do all of the laps that I wanted. We had a small issue in the afternoon with the turbo, which failed. But still, I learned what I needed to, and I definitely have a bit more experience going into the race next year.”

His best time from the Friday morning session was a 1m36.940s, 1.4s behind the fastest time of the week set by six-year Super Formula veteran (and fellow F2 alumnus) Tadasuke Makino. But Bearman feels that he could have extracted more pace without the turbo problem in the afternoon.

“I didn’t really get to push flat-out with new tires in the afternoon, but I still learned the track, which was the main goal of this test,” he noted. “When I come back next year for the F1 race, I’ll be in a much better position.”

With all three days of testing open to spectators, Japanese fans turned out by the hundreds starting Thursday morning when Bearman arrived, hoping to meet one of Formula 1’s newest full-time stars to get an autograph or a photo, or both.

“The fan turnout for a test was the best I’ve ever seen,” Bearman recalled. “I’ve never seen so many people for a test day, and their support has been incredible. They were so kind and respectful, giving me little gifts and really taking time to see me. It was really a special feeling and I was happy to give them as much time and photographs and autographs as I could.

“Big thanks to Toyota that I’m here. I have to say a huge thank you to them for helping me to get this test and make it a possibility. It was definitely a big push for me when I knew it was an option and a possibility.

“I’m very excited to continue working with them into next year. This has been the start of hopefully a great partnership.”

Fraga tops final day of Suzuka test, Bearman excels in first Super Formula outing

Igor Fraga led a crop of 12 rookie drivers during the final day of the Super Formula championship’s three-day winter test at Suzuka Circuit. Two 90-minute sessions were scheduled for Friday, reserved for rookie drivers with three or fewer Super …

Igor Fraga led a crop of 12 rookie drivers during the final day of the Super Formula championship’s three-day winter test at Suzuka Circuit.

Two 90-minute sessions were scheduled for Friday, reserved for rookie drivers with three or fewer Super Formula races on their record.

Fraga, the real-world and sim racing crossover star, set the fastest time of the day during the morning session. In fact, his leading time of 1m36.077s was his best time in the No. 64 Nakajima Racing Dallara/Honda all week — and fifth best out of all 30 drivers that participated across all three days. He followed that up with a 1m36.848s in the afternoon session, and officially led all rookie candidates in all six sessions that he participated in.

Second quickest was Seita Nonaka, a leading prospect from the Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge (TGR-DC) academy, driving the No. 8 KCMG Toyota. Nonaka set a 1m36.383s in the morning, and a 1m36.999s in the afternoon.

Nonaka’s teammate for the day — new Haas Formula 1 racer Oliver Bearman — attracted crowds of local fans for his first real-world experience around Suzuka. The 19-year-old British driver completed 43 laps today and set a top time of 1m36.940s, good for third fastest on the day aboard the No. 7 KCMG Toyota.

Bearman will return to Suzuka next April for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, using the real-world track knowledge gained today in a test made possible through Haas’ strategic partnership with Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Reigning Super Formula Lights champion and Honda-backed prospect Syun Koide was third quickest in the afternoon driving the No.50 B-Max Racing Honda, and fourth quickest today ahead of Nissan factory driver Mitsunori Takaboshi in the No. 20 Team Impul Toyota (1m37.545s).

The test also featured fellow British drivers Zak O’Sullivan and James Hedley for Kondo Racing, and young Dane Oliver Rasmussen for Team Impul. From Japan, TGR-DC prospects Rikuto Kobayashi and Kazuhisa Urabe got their first tests; Kobayashi (no relation to Kamui) with TOM’S, and Urabe with Cerumo-INGING alongside Super GT GT300 race winner Yuui Tsutsumi.

The test was also to have featured Honda Super GT GT500 driver Riki Okusa in the No. 65 Nakajima Racing Honda. But on his out lap during the morning session, Okusa lost the rear coming through the right-hand 200R bend on cold tires, went into the barriers on the left and did enough damage to the floor that his test was done before he even completed a lap.

Kondo’s British youngsters had their own troubles: Williams Racing Academy member O’Sullivan went off in the gravel at Degner Curve, while GB3 Series race winner Hedley went off at Spoon Curve. Both drivers brought out red flags for their respective incidents but were able to run without much trouble afterwards.

At the very end of the afternoon session, Tsutsumi caught a bit of snap oversteer heading into the S-Curves, and hit the sponge barriers off to the right. The 29-year-old, who had a brief American cameo as a Mazda MX-5 Cup winner at Sebring in 2018, was able to walk away unhurt.

The 2025 Super Formula Championship begins on March 8-9 at Suzuka for the first two rounds of a 12-round championship.

Antonelli withdraws from Super Formula test after illness

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has withdrawn from this week’s Super Formula winter test at Suzuka Circuit due to illness. Antonelli, who will race full-time for Mercedes in Formula 1 next season, also withdrew from last weekend’s Formula 2 season finale at …

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has withdrawn from this week’s Super Formula winter test at Suzuka Circuit due to illness. Antonelli, who will race full-time for Mercedes in Formula 1 next season, also withdrew from last weekend’s Formula 2 season finale at Abu Dhabi due to illness, finishing the year sixth in the final championship standings.

Though he was able to run 62 laps in today’s Abu Dhabi F1 test, Antonelli will not make the trip to Japan, where on Friday he was due to run his first laps around Suzuka in the No.14 Rookie Racing Dallara SF23/Toyota.

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The 18-year-old Mercedes prodigy was to have shared the track with a cast of drivers sampling the car and the circuit for the first time, including Haas F1 newcomer and fellow F2 graduate Oliver Bearman. Bearman will drive the No. 7 KCMG Dallara/Toyota on Friday – the third and final day of the Suzuka test which is reserved exclusively for rookie drivers (defined by Super Formula as any driver with three or fewer starts in the series).

The first day of testing, featuring the regular Super Formula drivers, will take place Wednesday-and both sessions can be seen live on the SFgo streaming service starting Tuesday night at 8:00pm ET for viewers in the United States.