Super Formula Champion Ayumu Iwasa's F1 Prospects Ignite Debate Among Motorsport Insiders

Suzuka, Japan – Fresh off his triumph in the fiercely contested Super Formula championship, Japanese racing sensation Ayumu Iwasa has garnered significant attention, with his long-time race engineer asserting that his Formula 1 potential surpasses that of current Grand Prix driver Yuki Tsunoda. This bold claim comes at a pivotal time for the Red Bull driver academy, as speculation mounts over future seats within its F1 sister team, Racing Bulls.

Team Mugen’s Tomohiko Koike, who has guided Iwasa through a remarkable season, made the declaration following last weekend’s dramatic Suzuka finale. Iwasa, a Red Bull Junior Team member, secured two crucial pole positions and a decisive victory in the final race, overturning a 12.5-point deficit to dethrone defending champion Sho Tsuboi and clinch the prestigious Super Formula title.

Koike, an engineer with extensive experience in Japan’s premier single-seater category, having also engineered Liam Lawson during his 2023 Super Formula campaign, articulated his confidence in Iwasa’s comprehensive abilities. "Iwasa is getting better and better," Koike told Motorsport. "In terms of his driving skill and his approach towards racing, he was better than last season. This season he has been very consistent and I would say his average performance has been the best of any driver, better than Tsuboi and Kakunoshin Ohta. It’s quite easy to imagine him in Formula 1. I think he would be better than Tsunoda."

The comparison to Yuki Tsunoda, a fellow Red Bull-backed Japanese driver who made his F1 debut in 2021 with AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls), is particularly striking. Tsunoda, currently in his fourth F1 season, has shown flashes of speed and improved consistency, notably outperforming several teammates over his tenure. In 2024, Tsunoda, alongside Daniel Ricciardo, forms the primary driver lineup for Racing Bulls. His best F1 finish to date remains a fourth place at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Tsunoda’s junior career included a strong third-place finish in the 2020 Formula 2 Championship, securing three wins and four pole positions, which directly paved his way to F1.

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Koike elaborated on his assessment, highlighting Iwasa’s technical prowess as a differentiating factor. "I don’t know Tsunoda personally, but I think Iwasa, not only in terms of driving skill, but his ability to set up the car is quite impressive, on the same level as [Tomoki] Nojiri. That’s why I think he would be able to drive better in F1 than some drivers who are on the grid. He just needs to be given a chance, that’s the most difficult thing." Tomoki Nojiri is a highly respected figure in Super Formula, a three-time champion known for his exceptional technical feedback and ability to optimize car setup. Koike’s comparison places Iwasa in elite company within the Japanese motorsport landscape.

Iwasa, 23, has spent the last two years diligently combining his Super Formula commitments with critical reserve and simulator duties for Red Bull’s two Formula 1 teams. His most recent F1 appearance came in Free Practice 1 at the Mexico Grand Prix last month, driving for Racing Bulls, providing him valuable track time in a contemporary F1 machine. This exposure is a standard pathway for Red Bull Junior Team prospects, allowing them to acclimate to F1 operations and gather data for their respective teams. Prior to Super Formula, Iwasa competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2022 and 2023, securing four wins and finishing fourth in the 2023 standings, further solidifying his credentials as a front-runner in top-tier feeder categories.

Despite his championship victory and the ringing endorsement from his engineer, an immediate Formula 1 race seat at Racing Bulls appears to be a distant prospect for Iwasa. The team’s 2025 driver lineup remains a subject of intense speculation, with both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson facing uncertain futures. Lawson, who impressed during his stand-in appearances for Ricciardo in 2023, is also a strong contender for a full-time seat, adding another layer of complexity to Red Bull’s driver decisions. Red Bull’s robust driver development program, while successful in bringing talent to F1, often faces the challenge of limited seats within its two teams, Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. This creates a competitive bottleneck for promising young drivers.

When questioned about his plans beyond 2024, Iwasa maintained a pragmatic outlook, steering clear of direct F1 aspirations for the immediate future. "At this stage, I don’t know," said Iwasa after clinching the Super Formula title. "I think it will be up to me to make the best use of that value, so I want to move forward in a way that lets me make full use of the title of champion, of being number one in Japan." His current team, Mugen, expressed a strong desire to retain his services, with Koike stating, "Mugen would really welcome Iwasa staying at the team to defend his Super Formula title," adding, "I think he will only reach an even higher level."

The dethroned Super Formula champion, Sho Tsuboi, offered a candid reflection on the season, acknowledging Iwasa’s deserving victory. Tsuboi entered the final race at Suzuka with a comfortable 12.5-point lead, requiring a fourth-place finish to secure a back-to-back title for Toyota’s TOM’S team. However, a disappointing eighth-place finish from seventh on the grid saw him fall short by 4.5 points.

"In terms of pure speed, I think there was absolutely no chance of beating the Honda drivers this weekend, and Iwasa made almost no mistakes in any race this year," Tsuboi conceded post-race. "Whenever he finished a race, he was in the top three. I think it was Iwasa’s year. He had mechanical trouble on two occasions, so if you give him back the points he lost there, he should have been far ahead coming into this weekend. From that point of view, it was only through his misfortune that I was able to stay in the title fight until the end. In reality, Iwasa should have been champion before the final race. Of course, I am frustrated, but I did all I could. Iwasa was really amazing this year." Tsuboi’s gracious concession underscores the exceptional performance and consistency Iwasa demonstrated throughout the challenging 2024 Super Formula season.

Iwasa’s championship solidifies his status as one of motorsport’s most exciting young talents, placing him firmly in the conversation for a future Formula 1 opportunity, even if the pathway remains complex within the Red Bull ecosystem.

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Jonas Leo: Jonas Leo is a passionate motorsport journalist and lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast. With a sharp eye for race strategy and driver performance, he brings readers closer to the world of Grand Prix racing through in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive paddock insights. Jonas has covered everything from preseason testing to dramatic title deciders, capturing the emotion and precision that define modern F1. When he’s not tracking lap times or pit stop tactics, he enjoys exploring classic racing archives and writing about the evolution of F1 technology.