 | |
| Category | FIA Formula 4 |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Constructors | Toray Carbon Magic |
| Engine suppliers | TOM'S Toyota |
| Tyre suppliers | Dunlop (Sumitomo) |
| Drivers' champion | Champion: Yuto NomuraIndependent: "Dragon" |
| Teams' champion | Champion: HFDP with B-Max Racing Team Independent: B-Max Racing Team |
| Official website | Official website |
 Current season | |
The F4 Japanese Championship (ＦＩＡ－フォーミュラ４ 地方選手権, FIA F4 Chihou Senshuken) is a formula racing series held in Japan regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was held in 2015.
History
Gerhard Berger and the FIA Single Seater Commission launched the current FIA Formula 4 in March 2013. The goal of FIA Formula 4 was to make the ladder to Formula 1 more transparent. Besides sporting and technical regulations, costs are regulated too: Any eligible car may not exceed a purchase price of €30,000. A single season in Formula 4 may not exceed €100,000 in costs.
The F4 Japanese Championship was launched by the GT Association on 16 December 2014, as one of the second phases of Formula 4 championships to be launched following the Italian F4 Championship and Formula 4 Sudamericana which launched in 2014. All rounds are support events to the Super GT Series.
Japanese race car constructor Dome was contracted to design and build the spec F110 chassis. The cars are constructed out of carbon fibre and feature a monocoque chassis. The engine is a 2.0-litre TOM'S Toyota inline-four. Dunlop (Sumitomo Rubber Industries) is the tyre supplier.
The series is open to drivers aged 16 and up. While primarily contested by young drivers moving up the single-seater ladder, older amateur drivers also compete in the series in the Independent Cup category.
A second-generation F4 Japanese Championship car built by Toray Carbon Magic, called the MCSC-24, was first revealed in 2022 and will debut in 2024, with an integrated halo safety device and a more powerful TOM'S Toyota engine.
Point system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Champions
All teams and drivers were Japanese-registered.
Drivers
| Season | Driver | Team | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Sho Tsuboi
|
TOM'S Spirit
|
4 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 195 | Race 14 of 14 | 3 |
| 2016 | Ritomo Miyata
|
TOM'S Spirit
|
2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 142 | Race 14 of 14 | 4 |
| 2017 | Ritomo Miyata
|
TOM'S Spirit
|
5 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 231 | Race 14 of 14 | 7 |
| 2018 | Yuki Tsunoda
|
Honda Formula Dream Project
|
8 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 245 | Race 14 of 14 | 14 |
| 2019 | Ren Sato
|
Honda Formula Dream Project
|
8 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 311 | Race 10 of 14 | 164 |
| 2020 | Hibiki Taira
|
TGR-DC Racing School
|
7 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 270.5 | Race 10 of 12 | 90 |
| 2021 | Seita Nonaka
|
TGR-DC Racing School
|
1 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 217 | Race 14 of 14 | 4 |
| 2022 | Syun Koide
|
Honda Formula Dream Project
|
8 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 279 | Race 14 of 14 | 33 |
| 2023 | Rikuto Kobayashi
|
TGR-DC Racing School
|
5 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 221 | Race 14 of 14 | 12 |
| 2024 | Yuto Nomura
|
HFDP with B-Max Racing Team
|
3 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 236 | Race 13 of 14 | 69 |
Teams
| Season | Team | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Margin | Independent Class Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | TOM'S Spirit
|
4 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 225 | 9 | not held |
| 2016 | Honda Formula Dream Project
|
1 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 203 | 21 | |
| 2017 | Honda Formula Dream Project
|
9 | 11 | 26 | 6 | 314 | 83 | |
| 2018 | Honda Formula Dream Project
|
12 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 316 | 106 | |
| 2019 | Honda Formula Dream Project
|
14 | 14 | 25 | 14 | 350 | 213 | |
| 2020 | TGR-DC Racing School
|
7 | 10 | 17 | 4 | 273.5 | 93 | |
| 2021 | TGR-DC Racing School
|
3 | 8 | 17 | 10 | 285 | 25 | |
| 2022 | Honda Formula Dream Project
|
10 | 12 | 23 | 7 | 336 | 111 | |
| 2023 | TGR-DC Racing School
|
6 | 8 | 22 | 5 | 290 | 58 | |
| 2024 | HFDP with B-Max Racing Team
|
260 | 80 | B-Max Racing Team
|
Independent Cup
| Season | Driver | Team | Wins (Indep/Cup) | Podiums (Indep/Cup) | Points (Indep/Cup) | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Masayuki Ueda
|
Rn-sports
|
2 | 10 | 207 | 6 |
| 2019 | Sergeyevich Sato
|
Field Motorsport
|
5 | 11 | 241 | 59 |
| 2020 | Sergeyevich Sato
|
Field Motorsport
|
6 | 10 | 225 | 27.5 |
| 2021 | "Hirobon"
|
Rn-sports
|
4 | 11 | 238 | 15 |
| 2022 | Yutaka Toriba
|
HELM Motorsports
|
10 | 12 | 306 | 104 |
| 2023 | Makoto Fujiwara
|
B-Max Racing Team
|
3 | 5 | 191 | 12 |
| 2024 | "Dragon"
|
B-Max Racing Team
|
5 | 9 | 202 | 2.5 |
Circuits
- Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2024 season.
| Number | Circuits | Rounds | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuji Speedway
|
20 | 2015–present |
| 2 | Suzuka International Racing Course
|
13 | 2015–present |
| 3 | Mobility Resort Motegi
|
11 | 2015–present |
| 4 | Sportsland Sugo
|
9 | 2015–2019, 2021–present |
| 5 | Autopolis
|
7 | 2015, 2017–2019, 2022–present |
| 6 | Okayama International Circuit
|
5 | 2015–2019 |
In other media
The 2023 anime Overtake! is based around the F4 Japanese Championship.
Notes
- Fuji Speedway has hosted 2 rounds every year.
- Suzuka International Racing Course hosted 2 rounds in 2022–2024.
- Mobility Resort Motegi hosted 2 rounds in 2021.
References
- ^ "F4 JAPANESE CHAMPIONSHIP selects Dunlop Tire as its official designated tire". Super GT. GT–Association. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- "FIA reveals Formula 4 plan". Autosport. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- "DOME CO., LTD". DOME CO., LTD. (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- Wood, Ida (2022-08-10). "Japanese F4 reveals Gen2 design to be introduced in 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
External links
| Formula racing ladder in Japan | |
|---|---|
| Tier I |
|
| Tier II |
|
| Tier III |
|
| Tier IV | |