Ayumu Iwasa

is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the Super Formula Championship for Team Mugen, winning the championship in 2025.

A member of the Honda Formula Dream Project and Red Bull Junior Team, Iwasa previously competed with DAMS in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, earning the Anthoine Hubert Award by finishing fifth overall in 2022 before finishing fourth the following year. He is the 2020 French F4 champion.

Junior racing career Karting (2005–2016) Iwasa began karting in Japan in 2005 and started competing nationally in 2014. During his karting career, he won the 2014 Suzuka Karting Championship Yamaha-SS Class and later became champion of the Suzuka Karting Championship X-30 class. He also competed in the JAF Junior Karting Championship FP category. He immediately established himself as the title favourite by winning two of the opening three races. After a winless second round at Magny-Cours, he dominated the remainder of the season, claiming two victories in each of the next three rounds. Iwasa secured the championship with three races remaining after taking a double pole position during the final round at Paul Ricard. Over the season, he scored nine victories, five pole positions and fifteen podium finishes, finishing on the podium in every round and never placing lower than sixth in a race.

Formula Three (2021) At the start of 2021, Iwasa competed in the F3 Asian Championship, partnering Roy Nissany, Roman Staněk and Reece Ushijima. He scored his only podium of the campaign in the first race of the fourth round at the Dubai Autodrome and ended up eighth in the championship. Following the championship, Iwasa stated that he needed to "control his psyche".

Iwasa driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2021 Spielberg Formula 3 round. Iwasa's primary programme in 2021 was the FIA Formula 3 Championship, where he remained with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Roman Staněk and fellow Red Bull Junior Jak Crawford. His campaign began quietly in Barcelona, where he scored his first points of the season with seventh place in Race 2. He showed improved pace in Paul Ricard, qualifying eighth and crossing the line third in the opening race before a time penalty for gaining an advantage off-track dropped him to eighth. He nevertheless added further points with ninth and seventh place in Race 2 and 3 respectively. At the Red Bull Ring, Iwasa recovered from a difficult qualifying session to score points in the final race of the weekend, finishing sixth after being disqualified from Race 1 for failing to comply with a black-and-orange flag instruction. His breakthrough came in Hungary, where he inherited victory in Race 1 after on-road winner Lorenzo Colombo received a post-race penalty, securing Iwasa's maiden FIA Formula 3 victory. He added further points during the weekend with tenth place in Race 2. A scoreless round in Spa-Francorchamps interrupted his momentum, but Iwasa returned to the podium in Zandvoort, finishing third in the opening race after qualifying ninth. He scored minor points in Sochi, and ended the season twelfth in the championship, fourth among rookies. Iwasa also outscored both of his teammates over the course of the campaign.

FIA Formula 2 (2022–2023) 2022

Iwasa driving the Dallara F2 2018 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 2 round. Iwasa stepped up to Formula 2 with DAMS IN , alongside Roy Nissany. Ahead of his debut season, Iwasa stated that he intended to adopt a more aggressive approach than he had in Formula 3. In the Bahrain opener, a car issue confined him to last in qualifying. Iwasa recovered impressively to score a point on his Formula 2 debut by climbing to eighth in the sprint race, although a technical problem denied him further points in the feature race after he had briefly led the race. He continued to impress in Jeddah with points finishes in both races after qualifying fifth. In Imola, Iwasa secured a front-row start and converted it into fifth place in the feature race despite losing time during a double-stack pit stop. He earned his first Formula 2 podium in Barcelona, finishing second after making up places in the reverse-grid sprint. Contact with Jehan Daruvala early in the feature race, however, forced an unscheduled pit stop and left him outside the points.

Monaco proved to be his first scoreless weekend after a qualifying infringement relegated him to starts outside the top 10 for both races. Further incidents in both races compounded a difficult weekend, though he returned to the points in Baku by recovering to eighth in the sprint race. In the feature race, he sustained damage following contact during a safety car restart, and placed fourteenth. In Silverstone, Iwasa finished second in the sprint race after overtaking three rivals in quick succession, narrowly missing out on victory to Jack Doohan. In the feature race, Iwasa had a good getaway at the start, jumping to fourth but a terrible pit stop saw him far from the frontrunners and he finished in 12th. In Austria, a penalty for forcing Logan Sargeant off the circuit dropped him out of the points in the sprint race, though he recovered to seventh in the feature despite starting on wet tyres on a drying track. Iwasa's breakthrough victory came in Paul Ricard after qualifying on the front row. He finished sixth in the sprint before controlling the feature race to secure his maiden Formula 2 win by almost nine seconds. He maintained his momentum in Hungary, taking his first Formula 2 pole position before finishing third in the feature race, leaving him seventh in the standings at the summer break.

Iwasa continued his consistent run with seventh in the Spa-Francorchamps feature race after an alternate strategy recovery, before claiming a third-placed podium in the Zandvoort feature race after qualifying fifth. In Monza, Iwasa qualified seventh after a crash at the Parabolica corner. Starting fourth, he made up positions in the feature race and was initially set for back-to-back third places, but was later disqualified after the plank on his car was found to be below the minimum thickness. He responded by taking his second pole position of the season in Yas Marina and converted it into his second victory, holding off newly crowned champion Felipe Drugovich in the feature race. Iwasa finished fifth in the championship with 141 points, recording two victories and six podiums. Despite ending the season as the second-highest placed rookie, he was awarded the Anthoine Hubert Award.

2023 Iwasa driving for DAMS during the 2023 Spielberg Formula 2 round. Iwasa continued with DAMS for the 2023 campaign, alongside Ferrari Driver Academy member Arthur Leclerc. Iwasa qualified seventh for the Bahrain opening round, and ended the sprint race in fourth. He struggled in the feature race but secured eighth place. In Jeddah, he did one place better in qualifying, and in the sprint race, he shot into the lead by overtaking three rivals on the opening lap. He was put under intense pressure from behind, but managed take his first win of the season. Iwasa finished fourth in the feature race, and thus was the only driver to score points in all four of the opening two rounds. Iwasa took his first pole of the year in Melbourne. His points streak would come to an end after a broken front wing on the opening lap of the sprint, but in the feature race Iwasa controlled things perfectly for the win and the standings lead. Iwasa struggled in Baku after a poor qualifying left him down in 17th and finished both races outside the points, dropping to third in the standings.

In Monaco, Iwasa qualified in ninth. He would inherit the lead after Isack Hadjar suffered mechanical issues ahead, and go on to win comfortably. He finished tenth in the feature race, after a late red flag saw drivers aheadwho did not pit make up positions. Iwasa qualified fourth Barcelona, and contact in the sprint race dropped him to tenth. He managed to find his form and work his way to eighth. In the feature race, Iwasa passed Théo Pourchaire following the pit stops, but towards the end was overtaken by a faster Victor Martins, forced to settle with fourth. In Austria, Iwasa had his worst qualifying of the year yet, down in 16th. A wrong tyre choice meant that he finished in 11th. Opting on the alternate strategy for the feature race, luck was on his side as teammate Leclerc brought on the safety car, and both pitted jumping the lead alternate strategy runner Enzo Fittipaldi, who missed the pit entry. He would charge all the way to second place and nearly taking the win away from Richard Verschoor.

In Silverstone, Iwasa qualified in third having topped practice. In the sprint race, he encountered a problem and dropped to 21st place right on the first lap, and would finish there. He had a good start in the feature race, nearly taking the lead from Martins. On lap 16, he was pushed wide by Zane Maloney as he overtook him, which caused Iwasa to lose a further two positions. He managed to end in fifth place. Iwasa qualified sixth in Hungary, and a terrific start from fifth moved him to second in the sprint race, where he scored yet another podium. He opted for the alternate strategy during the feature race which rewarded with a higher finish, ending in fourth place after passing Isack Hadjar late on. Iwasa was unlucky during Spa-Francorchamps qualifying, securing only 16th due to unpredictable rain weather. He made up for lost positions by charging to seventh place in the sprint race. However the feature race was much less successful, as Iwasa spun on the first lap, and was taken out after being collected by Dennis Hauger. Iwasa was then given a five-place grid penalty for the next race.

Iwasa had a weekend to forget in Zandvoort, the sprint race cancelled due to heavy rain and his feature race was compromised after early contact with Kush Maini. Iwasa qualified 15th in Monza, and retired from the sprint race due to a car issue. His feature race was action-packed, having briefly led the race yet to pit in a safety car-strewn race. After pitting, he was soon up to third, and completed his charge by passing Pourchaire to claim second place. Needing to have take maximum points to even have a chance of winning the title, Qualifying fifth for the Abu Dhabi season finale, he finished eighth in the sprint race. Struggling throughout the feature race, Iwasa would inherit two positions on the last lap and finish in fourth. He concluded the season fourth in the standings, amassing 165 points, one pole, three wins and three other podiums.

Formula One and Super Formula career Formula One At the beginning of 2021, Iwasa was officially announced as a Red Bull Junior.

Iwasa made his F1 test debut in November 2023, driving the AlphaTauri AT04 during the young drivers' test. Despite a late car issue, the Japanese driver wrapped up 96 laps to put him 15th overall.

Iwasa made his debut in an official Formula One race weekend for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, driving for RB in the first practice session in place of Daniel Ricciardo. He placed 16th in his F1 debut, a second behind his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Later that year, Iwasa participated in free practice during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, finishing the session in 17th. He drove the VCARB 01 again during the young drivers' test, completing 110 laps overall.

At the start of the year, Iwasa took part in a private test, driving the AlphaTauri AT04 at the Imola Circuit. Iwasa also participated in the first free practice session for the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, driving for Red Bull Racing in place of Max Verstappen. In late June, Iwasa once again drove the AT04 in Imola as part of a testing of previous car (TPC) programme. He participated in further free practice sessions with Racing Bulls at the Mexico City and the . Iwasa then drove for Red Bull during the Yas Marina post-season test, completing 121 laps.

Iwasa continued as the test and reserve driver for Racing Bulls during the season. He competed in his first free practice session of the year with Red Bull at the .

Super Formula (2024–present) 2024 season

Iwasa left Formula 2 and moved back to Japan in 2024 for Super Formula, joining Team Mugen alongside two-time series champion Tomoki Nojiri. Despite seeing it as a negative career move, he eventually felt as a "meaningful step up". In just his second race in Autopolis, Iwasa secured his first pole. Wheelspin at the start saw him lose the lead to Tadasuke Makino, and settled there as he collected his first podium of the campaign. He again finished runner-up the following round in Sportsland Sugo in a race that ended early due to a crash. However, a disastrous start in the first Fuji round left Iwasa 11th at the flag, calling the team to "get its act together". Despite that, the first race during the second Fuji round yielded yet another second placed podium. A disappointing end to the season in the second Suzuka round, owing to poor starts left Iwasa finishing the races ninth and seventh respectively. Iwasa ended the season fifth in the standings with 63.5 points, with a total of three podiums.

2025 season

Iwasa continued with Team Mugen for the 2025 season. During this season, he won the Drivers' Championship.

2026 season Iwasa continued with Team Mugen for the 2026 season after winning the title the previous year.

Personal life Iwasa is a graduate of . Iwasa hails from a family with a history in motorsport; both of his parents participated in Honda Civic spec races in the 1990s, and his grandfather also raced competitively.

Racing record

Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2017 F4 Japanese Championship B-Max Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0 0 28th Asian Formula Renault Series Asia Racing Team 2 0 2 1 2 48 13th 2018 F4 Japanese Championship Rn-sports 2 0 0 0 0 8 17th 2019 Super Taikyū - ST-4 Tracy Sports SPV Racing 1 0 0 0 0 65‡ 5th‡ 2020 French F4 Championship FFSA Academy 21 9 5 7 15 338 1st 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship Hitech Grand Prix 20 1 0 0 2 52 12th F3 Asian Championship 15 0 0 0 1 82 8th 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship DAMS 28 2 2 1 6 141 5th 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship DAMS 26 3 1 3 6 165 4th 2024 Super Formula Team Mugen 9 0 1 0 3 63.5 5th Formula One Visa Cash App RB F1 Team Test driver 2025 Super Formula Team Mugen 12 2 3 3 7 124 1st Formula One Oracle Red Bull Racing Test driver Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team Test and reserve driver 2026 Super Formula Team Mugen 8 0 3 0 3 59.5 2nd* Formula One Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team Test and reserve driver Season still in progress. ‡ Team standings.

Complete F4 Japanese Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points 2017 B-Max Racing Team OKA1 OKA2 FUJ11 FUJ12 AUT1 AUT2 SUG1 SUG2 FUJ21 FUJ22 SUZ1 SUZ2 MOT1 MOT2 28th 0 2018 Rn-sports OKA1 OKA2 FUJ11 FUJ12 SUZ1 SUZ2 FUJ21 FUJ22 SUG1 SUG2 AUT1 AUT2 MOT1 MOT2 17th 8

Complete French F4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points 2020 NOG1 NOG2 NOG3 MAG1 MAG2 MAG3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 LEC11 LEC12 LEC13 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 LEC21 LEC22 LEC23 LEC31 LEC32 LEC33 1st

Complete F3 Asian Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points 2021 Hitech Grand Prix DUB1 DUB2 DUB3 ABU1 ABU2 ABU3 ABU1 ABU2 ABU3 DUB1 DUB2 DUB3 ABU1 ABU2 ABU3 8th 82

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points 2021 Hitech Grand Prix CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 LEC1 LEC2 LEC3 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 SOC1 SOC2 SOC3 12th 52

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points 2022 DAMS BHRSPR BHRFEA JEDSPR JEDFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA CATSPR CATFEA MCOSPR MCOFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA SILSPR SILFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA LECSPR LECFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA ZANSPR ZANFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 5th 141 2023 DAMS BHRSPR BHRFEA JEDSPR JEDFEA MELSPR MELFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA MCOSPR MCOFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA ZANSPR ZANFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 4th 165

Complete Super Formula results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points 2024 Team Mugen Honda SUZ AUT SUG FUJ MOT FUJ FUJ SUZ SUZ 5th 63.5 2025 Team Mugen Honda SUZ SUZ MOT MOT AUT FUJ FUJ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ SUZ 1st 124 2026 Team Mugen Honda MOT MOT SUZ SUZ FUJ FUJ FUJ SUG FUJ FUJ SUZ SUZ 2nd* 59.5 ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. Season still in progress.

Complete Formula One participations (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)