2024 Super Formula Championship
The 2024 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the fifty-second season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the twelfth under the moniker of Super Formula. It started in March at Suzuka Circuit and ended in November at the same venue, after nine rounds across seven race weekends.
Sho Tsuboi, driving for Vantelin Team TOM’S, won his first Super Formula Drivers' Championship at the final race, ahead of two-time champion Tomoki Nojiri. Docomo Team Dandelion Racing won the Teams' Championship.
This was the final Super Formula season for three-time champion Naoki Yamamoto and one-time champion Yuji Kunimoto. With Yamamoto announced his retirement on 5 November prior to the season-ending JAF Suzuka Grand Prix, and Kunimoto announced after the season ended.
Teams and drivers
All teams used identical Dallara-built SF23 chassis with either Honda or Toyota engines. Every Honda-powered car used a Honda HR-417E engine and every Toyota-powered car used a Toyota TRD-01F engine.| Entrant | Engine | No. | Driver name | Rounds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Team changes
Race resultsSeason reportFirst halfThe 2024 Super Formula Championship began at Suzuka, where Sena Sakaguchi of INGING secured pole position during qualifying. Sakaguchi was overtaken at the start of the race by Tomoki Nojiri from Team Mugen and Ren Sato from Nakajima Racing. The race faced disruption following a collision between Yuji Kunimoto of Team Impul and Kazuto Kotaka of Kondo Racing at the Esses, which resulted in both drivers retiring. After the race resumed, Nojiri maintained his lead and made his pitstop on lap 13. Sato pitted two laps later, only to rejoin the track behind four drivers who had overcut him. This sequence left Nojiri in the lead, ultimately securing his twelfth career victory, ahead of Kenta Yamashita of Kondo Racing and Naoki Yamamoto of Nakajima Racing. Sakaguchi, who delayed his pitstop until lap 19 in hopes of a safety car that did not occur, finished in seventh place.In the second round of the championship at Autopolis, Iwasa secured pole position, but his start resembled Sakaguchi’s in the first round as he was overtaken by Dandelion Racing’s Tadasuke Makino and Yamamoto. As Yamamoto's defense slowed Iwasa, Makino held a lead of three seconds by the time both drivers made their pit stops on lap 24. This interval allowed Yamamoto and Makino’s teammate, Kakunoshin Ohta, to move ahead of Iwasa. The rookie managed to overtake both competitors over the following ten laps, but Makino had already established a 13-second advantage, securing his first race victory. Sho Tsuboi of Team TOM’S claimed third place, following Iwasa past Yamamoto and Ohta. After an off-track incident, Nojiri finished ninth, resulting in him and Makino sharing the championship lead at 23 points, with Iwasa and Yamamoto trailing with 20 points each. Sportsland SUGO hosted the third round of the series, marked by persistent wet weather throughout the weekend. Nojiri secured pole position during qualifying. Pre-race drama unfolded as Yamamoto crashed during the warm-up laps, leading to a one-hour delay for barrier repairs. The race commenced under safety car conditions, transitioning to green flag racing after five laps. However, the safety car returned promptly when Kazuya Oshima of ROOKIE Racing crashed, resulting in six additional laps under caution. The subsequent restart was also short-lived, as Sakaguchi fell victim to the challenging conditions at the same corner, prompting a red flag. The race was not restarted and Nojiri was declared the winner, followed by Iwasa and Tsuboi, with only half points awarded. This result placed Nojiri in the championship lead, 6.5 points ahead of Iwasa in second place. In the fourth round of the championship at Fuji Speedway, Nirei Fukuzumi of KCMG secured pole position. Ayumu Iwasa started alongside him but dropped to 13th after a poor start, allowing Toshiki Oyu of INGING to move into second. Oyu stayed close to Fukuzumi until he pitted on lap 13. Fukuzumi followed but encountered a slow pit stop, which caused him to lose positions. Sho Tsuboi, starting from fourth, delayed his pit stop until lap 28 and rejoined the track behind Oyu, Nojiri and Makino. With fresher tires, Tsuboi quickly overtook the two cars ahead of him within two laps and set out to catch Oyu, gaining over a second per lap. He ultimately passed Oyu to claim his first victory since 2020 and his first win for TOM'S. With Iwasa finishing in 11th place and out of the points, Tsuboi rose to second in the championship standings, 9.5 points behind Nojiri. Round five of the season was held at Mobility Resort Motegi, where Yamashita took pole position. Ohta started alongside him and opted for an early pit stop as soon as the pit window opened on lap ten. This promoted Makino to second place, who delayed his stop until lap 22, one lap before Yamashita. After the pit stop cycle was complete, Ohta emerged with an eleven-second lead. Makino, however, had moved into second during his pit stop and began his pursuit of Ohta. With two laps remaining, Makino caught Ohta, and the teammates battled for the lead. Ohta appeared poised to secure victory but suffered a throttle issue that caused him to spin out, handing the win to Makino. Yamashita and Nojiri completed the podium. Pre-event championship leader Tsuboi finished fifth, dropping to third in the standings, with Makino now leading Nojiri by five points. |