The F4 Japanese Championship (ＦＩＡ－フォーミュラ４ 地方選手権, FIA F4 Chihou Senshuken)[1] is a formula racing series held in Japan regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was held in 2015.
 | |
| Category | FIA Formula 4 |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Constructors | Toray Carbon Magic |
| Engine suppliers | TOM'S Toyota |
| Tyre suppliers | Dunlop (Sumitomo) |
| Drivers' champion |  Rikuto Kobayashi |
| Teams' champion | TGR-DC Racing School |
| Official website | Official website |
 Current season | |
History edit
Gerhard Berger and the FIA Single Seater Commission launched the current FIA Formula 4 in March 2013.[2] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[3] 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.[4]
Point system edit
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Champions edit
All teams and drivers were Japanese-registered.
Drivers edit
| 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 |
Teams edit
| Season | Team | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | TOM'S Spirit
|
4 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 225 | 9 |
| 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 |
Independent Cup edit
| 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 |
Circuits edit
- Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2024 season.
| Number | Circuits | Rounds | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuji Speedway
|
16[a] | 2015–present |
| 2 | Suzuka International Racing Course
|
9[b] | 2015–present |
| Mobility Resort Motegi
|
9[c] | 2015–present | |
| 4 | Sportsland Sugo
|
7 | 2015–2019, 2021–present |
| 5 | Autopolis
|
5 | 2015, 2017–2019, 2022–present |
| Okayama International Circuit
|
5 | 2015–2019 |
In other media edit
The 2023 anime Overtake! is based around the F4 Japanese Championship.
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "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.