The 2019 Japanese
Super Formula Championship was the forty-seventh season of premier Japanese
open-wheel
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...
, and the seventh under the moniker of Super Formula. The season began on 21 April at
Suzuka Circuit
The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000.
Introduction
Soic ...
and ended on 27 October at the same location.
2019 marked the first season of the
Dallara SF19
The Dallara SF19 is an open-wheel single-seater chassis produced by Dallara for use in the Japanese Super Formula championship. It debuted in 2019, replacing the Dallara SF14 chassis. Throughout its production, it was the sole chassis used in Su ...
chassis package, while continuing the engine configuration of the
preceding chassis.
Nick Cassidy
Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship in ...
clinched his first Driver's Championship title, after finishing ahead of reigning champion
Naoki Yamamoto at the season finale at
Suzuka.
Docomo Team Dandelion Racing won their first Teams' Championship title since
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, with Naoki Yamamoto and
Nirei Fukuzumi
is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super Formula for Dandelion Racing.
Career
Karting
In 2010, Fukuzumi began karting, starting his racing career. He remained in karting until 2013, with his best achievement being second plac ...
driving for them.
Teams and drivers
Team changes
*German team
Motopark will enter the championship in collaboration with the B-MAX Racing Team.
Driver changes
Honda
*
Lucas Auer
Lucas Auer (born 11 September 1994) is an Austrian racing driver. He is the nephew of former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger. He currently drives for HTP Winward Motorsport in DTM. He was a member of the Red Bull Junior Team.
Early career
In ...
announce to joining Super Formula with B-MAX
Motopark after
Mercedes AMG
Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG, is the high-performance subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG. AMG independently hires engineers and contracts with manufacturers to customize Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles. The company has its headquarters in Aff ...
shut down their
DTM project.
Former
FIA European Formula Three Championship
The FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a European Formula Three(F3) auto racing competition, organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). After one season of the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy, the FIA revived t ...
driver
Harrison Newey was later confirmed in a second B-MAX car.
*2018 champion
Naoki Yamamoto moves to
Team Dandelion Racing after eight seasons driving for
Team Mugen. He is joined by
Nirei Fukuzumi
is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super Formula for Dandelion Racing.
Career
Karting
In 2010, Fukuzumi began karting, starting his racing career. He remained in karting until 2013, with his best achievement being second plac ...
, who completed a partial season with Mugen in 2018 alongside
FIA Formula 2.
Nobuharu Matsushita
is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super GT and Super Formula. He formerly competed in the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship for MP Motorsport before being replaced by current Super Formula driver Giuliano Alesi.
Early career
Kart ...
leaves Team Dandelion after a single season, returning to
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...
with
Carlin.
*
Tomoki Nojiri
is a Japanese racing driver for the Honda Motor Company. He currently drives in the GT500 class of the Autobacs Super GT Series, and the Super Formula Championship, where he is the 2021 and 2022 series champion.
Racing career Early career ...
moves from Team Dandelion to Team Mugen.
He will be partnered by
2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship
The 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship was the seventh and final season of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, a multi-event motor racing championship for third-tier single-seat open wheel formula racing cars that is held across Eu ...
runner-up and two-time
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...
winner
Daniel Ticktum
Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship.
Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...
, who competed in two rounds for the team in 2018.
*
Koudai Tsukakoshi
is a Japanese racing driver.
Career
Formula Three
After competing in Formula Dream in 2004, Tsukakoshi moved into the All-Japan Formula Three Championship for the 2005 campaign. Competing for M Tec, Tsukakoshi finished his first season in four ...
leaves Real Racing's Super Formula team after six seasons. He is replaced by
Tristan Charpentier, who raced in the
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship
The GB3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships or Karting. Ha ...
in 2018.
Prior to the second round of the championship, it was announced that Tsukakoshi would be returning to the seat for the remainder of the season.
*
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.
He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F ...
and
Takuya Izawa
is a Japanese racing driver.
Racing record
Complete Super GT results
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Rac ...
are replaced at
Nakajima Racing
Nakajima Planning Co.,Ltd, racing as Nakajima Racing, is a Super Formula and Super GT team organized and founded by Satoru Nakajima in 1983. The team has fielded four championship winners in the Formula Nippon racing series: Tom Coronel, Toranos ...
by Formula 2 race winner
Tadasuke Makino
is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in a range of motorsport disciplines, including Super GT and European Formula 3. In 2018, Makino joined the FIA Formula 2 Championship with the series' defending champions Russian Time. Currently, Ma ...
and former European and Japanese Formula Three driver
Álex Palou
Álex Palou Montalbo (; born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 series championship. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in ...
. Karthikeyan will remain with the team in
Super GT.
Toyota
*2018 series runner-up
Nick Cassidy
Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship in ...
will move from
Kondō Racing to
Team Tom's, replacing
James Rossiter
James Rossiter (born 25 August 1983) is a former professional racing driver, British motorsport executive and Team Principal of Maserati MSG Racing in Formula E.
He was a Test Driver for BAR, Honda, Super Aguri and Force India in Formula One an ...
.
*2016 champion
Yuji Kunimoto
is a Japanese auto racing driver. He is the younger brother of 2008 Macau Grand Prix winner Keisuke Kunimoto. As of 2021, he is racing for Team KCMG in the Super Formula Championship, and for Racing Project Bandoh in Super GT.
Career highligh ...
will take Cassidy's place at Kondo Racing, after Toyota promoted 2018 Japanese F3 champion
Sho Tsuboi to his former seat at cerumo・INGING.
*
Artem Markelov, a five-season veteran of the GP2 Series and FIA Formula 2 with
Russian Time, joins Super Formula in the #7
Team LeMans
Le Mans Ltd., headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo is an automobile parts manufacturer founded in 1967. The original company name was Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. The company is mainly engaged in the development and sales of motorsport parts and the ...
, which in 2018 was driven by both
Pietro Fittipaldi
Pietro Fittipaldi da Cruz (born 25 June 1996) is a Brazilian-American racing driver, the grandson of two-time Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of racing driver Enzo Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi is racing in European Le Mans S ...
and
Tom Dillmann
Tom Dillmann (born 6 April 1989 in Mulhouse) is a French racing driver, formerly competing for Nio Formula E Team, in Formula E. He is probably best known for winning the German Formula Three Championship in the 2010 season and the Formula V8 3 ...
.
Mid-season changes
* Tristan Charpentier left Real Racing after the first round. He had qualified two seconds off the pace in the first round and crashed heavily in the race. He was replaced by veteran racer
Koudai Tsukakoshi
is a Japanese racing driver.
Career
Formula Three
After competing in Formula Dream in 2004, Tsukakoshi moved into the All-Japan Formula Three Championship for the 2005 campaign. Competing for M Tec, Tsukakoshi finished his first season in four ...
for the rest of the season.
*
Dan Ticktum
Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship.
Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...
left
Team Mugen after the third round. He was dropped by the
Red Bull Junior programme and subsequently lost his Super Formula drive. He was replaced by new
Red Bull Junior,
Patricio O'Ward
Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion.
Early life and care ...
for the remainder of the season.
However, O'Ward was dropped prior to the final round from the
Red Bull Junior Team
The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development program run by the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH in an attempt to identify potential future racing stars in open wheel racing. The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American ...
and thus for the final round, the seat was filled by Estonian
Jüri Vips
Jüri Vips (born 10 August 2000) is an Estonian professional racing driver, currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. He is the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 champion, and formerly a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. ...
.
*
Yuichi Nakayama replaced
Artem Markelov at the sixth round due to Markelov being called up to race for
BWT Arden in the
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the l ...
Race calendar and results
The calendar with seven rounds was announced in August 2018.
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
;Scoring system:
;Driver standings:
Teams' Championship
References
External links
Japanese Championship Super Formula official website
{{Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon years
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Super Formula
Super Formula