Ren Satō

is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in Super GT for ARTA and in Super Formula for PONOS Nakajima Racing. He is a factory driver for Honda, and a former member of the Red Bull Junior Team and Honda Formula Dream Project.

He is not related to two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato or sports car racer Marino Sato.

Career

Formula 4 Sato made his single-seater debut with Honda Formula Dream Project in the 2018 FIA F4 Japanese Championship. He finished seventh in the championship with 58 points in his first season. In 2019, Sato dominated the Japanese F4 circuit en route to his first racing championship. He won 11 out of the season's 14 races, including eight wins in a row to end the season, and finished on the podium in all but one race. Sato clinched the 2019 championship in the penultimate race meeting at Sportsland Sugo, and won the championship by 164 points.

Sato took part in the 2019 French F4 Championship round at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as a guest driver. In 2020, Sato, along with Ayumu Iwasa, raced full-time in the French F4 Championship. Sato finished the season runner-up in the standings behind Iwasa, with four wins and 12 podiums.

Super Formula Lights Sato would return to the Japanese circuit after just one season in Europe, competing in the 2021 Super Formula Lights championship with TODA Racing. He won four of the last six races of the season, including a sweep of the August race meeting at Motegi, to finish the year third in the championship behind champion Teppei Natori, and runner-up Giuliano Alesi.

Super GT GT300 Sato made his Super GT Series debut in 2021, driving the ARTA Honda NSX GT3 in the GT300 class along with two-time series champion Shinichi Takagi. The team finished fourth in the championship, collecting three podium finishes at Fuji Speedway, Sugo, and Motegi, although their results were intermixed with four finishes outside the top nineteen.

In the final race of the season at Fuji, Sato influenced the outcome of the GT500 class championship in controversial manner. While racing the Subaru BRZ of Hideki Yamauchi for position, he went for an overtake into turn one, but braked too late and crashed into the GT500 class Stanley Honda NSX-GT of Naoki Yamamoto, who was in position to win the GT500 championship with 15 laps remaining. The incident took out both Sato and Yamamoto from the race, and it ultimately cost Yamamoto and Team Kunimitsu the GT500 titles, which were won by TOM's and drivers Yuhi Sekiguchi and Sho Tsuboi. After the race, Sato admitted that he was fully responsible for the incident. For 2022, Sato was dropped from Honda's Super GT lineup with his place at the No. 55 ARTA team taken by rookie Iori Kimura. However, Honda affirmed their commitment to Sato by announcing him as a Super Formula driver for 2022.

GT500 Sato returned to Super GT in 2024, as he competed in GT500 with his former team ARTA. He was partnered with Hiroki Otsu.

Super Formula

Sato took part in the Super Formula manufacturer and rookie test at Suzuka Circuit on 7-9 December, driving the number 15 Red Bull Mugen Team Goh car. Sato finished as the fastest of four rookies on the final day. On 14 January 2022, Sato was announced as a Super Formula driver for Honda. Sato won Rookie of the Year honours ahead of his team mate, Atsushi Miyake, and recorded his first podium in the JAF Grand Prix Suzuka. Sato moved to Nakajima Racing to replace Toshiki Oyu. Sato stayed with the team for 2024.

Racing record

Career summary † As Sato was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. 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 2018 Honda Formula Dream Project OKA1 OKA2 FUJ11 FUJ12 SUZ1 SUZ2 FUJ21 FUJ22 SUG1 SUG2 AUT1 AUT2 MOT1 MOT2 7th 58 2019 Honda Formula Dream Project OKA1 OKA2 FUJ11 FUJ12 SUZ1 SUZ2 FUJ21 FUJ22 AUT1 AUT2 SUG1 SUG2 MOT1 MOT2 1st 311

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 2019 NOG1 NOG2 NOG3 PAU1 PAU2 PAU3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 LÉD1 LÉD2 LÉD3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 MAG1 MAG2 MAG3 LEC1 LEC2 LEC3 NC† 0 2020 NOG1 NOG2 NOG3 MAG1 MAG2 MAG3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 LEC11 LEC12 LEC13 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 LEC21 LEC22 LEC23 LEC31 LEC32 LEC33 2nd † As Sato was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Super Formula Lights 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 Pos Points 2021 Toda Racing FUJ1 FUJ2 FUJ3 SUZ1 SUZ2 SUZ3 AUT1 AUT2 AUT3 SUG1 SUG2 SUG3 MOT1 MOT2 MOT3 MOT1 MOT2 MOT3 3rd 92

Complete Super GT results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points 2021 ARTA Honda NSX GT3 Evo GT300 OKA FUJ SUZ MOT SUG AUT MOT FUJ 4th 45 2024 ARTA Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 GT500 OKA FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ SUG AUT MOT 12th 35 2025 ARTA Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 GT500 OKA FUJ SEP FS1 FS2 SUZ SUG AUT MOT 8th 32 2026 ARTA Mugen Honda Prelude-GT GT500 OKA FUJ SEP FUJ SUZ SUG AUT MOT ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. (Number) Driver did not take part in this sprint race, points are still awarded for the teammate's result. Season still in progress.

Complete Super Formula results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. Season still in progress.