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Super Formula

The 'skipped' Honda protege determined to make his mark

By rights, Toshiki Oyu should have been the next Honda junior driver sent to Europe to prepare for a Formula 1 future after Yuki Tsunoda. It didn't work out that way - but Oyu still has his sights set on big things after emerging as one of Super Formula's brightest young stars.

Jamie Klein

Edited: Nov 8, 2023, 2:23 AM

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Toshiki Oyu, TCS NAKAJIMA RACING

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A little over two years ago, when a certain Yuki Tsunoda was unavailable for a round of the Euroformula Open series at Silverstone owing to a clash with his primary FIA Formula 3 programme, Honda called upon another of its junior drivers to fill the breach at the Motopark squad. The replacement proceeded to blow the field away with two poles and two victories.

Unfortunately, those two races were the first and only ones that Toshiki Oyu contested in Europe. After returning to his main duties in the All-Japan F3 series, Oyu was handed an unexpected chance to step up to Super Formula in 2020, and last month at Suzuka, he completed an accomplished second season in Japan’s premier single-seater series that has marked him out as perhaps the brightest young talent on Honda’s domestic roster.

Despite Motopark boss Timo Rumpfkeil expressing enthusiasm about running Oyu full-time after his Silverstone heroics, Honda had other ideas. In fact, looking at the line of succession of Honda juniors being handed full-time drives in Europe, Oyu had already been ‘skipped’ in 2019, the year that Tsunoda and Teppei Natori were sent to FIA F3 directly from Japanese F4.

Nobuharu Matsushita, Nirei Fukuzumi and Tadasuke Makino (all incidentally back racing in Super Formula now) got their chances in Europe after racing in All-Japan F3, where Oyu plied his trade in 2018-19 for Toda Racing. Normally, he would have been next in line for a chance in Europe, before Honda changed tack and started searching for fresh talent a rung lower on the ladder.

“Yeah, it’s exactly like that…” sighs Oyu, clearly still unhappy about the snub. “I was able to do a round of Euroformula Open, I won from pole twice, I did everything I could. If I had the chance, I was confident I could deliver good results. I gave it everything and yet I wasn’t chosen.”

Oyu (2) leads Toyota protege Ritomo Miyata (36) at Sugo in 2019 using the underpowered Toda engine

It’s probably not a coincidence that Oyu being passed up for a chance in Europe came around the same time as Red Bull started to get involved in Honda’s junior programme – and Oyu suggests that his record in All-Japan F3 (one win in two seasons) was not considered good enough, despite racing for Toda at a time it was still using its self-built engine instead of the much more competitive Spiess unit it uses now.

“Now they have the Volkswagen [Spiess] engine so it’s going well for them, but in my time the engine wasn’t so good,” reflects Oyu. “I feel that they should have taken the quality of the package into consideration.

“If you look at the results, I won only once, so I can understand it’s more natural to choose someone who is winning a lot of races. On the other hand, it was a miracle to win a race with Toda Racing at that time! You can look at it in different ways. Maybe it was just bad timing.”

I did everything I could. If I had the chance [to race in Europe], I was confident I could deliver good results. Maybe it was just bad timing

Toshiki Oyu

After his second year in All-Japan F3, Oyu was preparing to switch to SUPER GT full-time in 2020, believing his single-seater career to be over, before Alex Palou’s decision to leave Japan in favour of a drive in IndyCar after a single season in Super Formula opened up a berth at Honda squad Nakajima Racing.

Initially this seemed set to go to Hiroki Otsu, a Honda-affiliated driver who is four years Oyu’s senior. But after both were evaluated in the 2019 year-end rookie test at Suzuka, it was Oyu who got the nod to partner Makino in 2020.

The year started badly with a string of incidents and mishaps, including taking out Makino in a first-corner shunt at Okayama, but he redeemed himself with an assured drive to a first win at Suzuka, something that propelled him to Rookie of the Year honours and probably saved his seat for 2021.

Oyu celebrates his first Super Formula win at Suzuka last year

Oyu faced the additional challenge of being paired with three-time champion Naoki Yamamoto for 2021, as Yamamoto made the move from Dandelion Racing (with Makino moving in the opposite direction). But in the end, it wasn’t a close contest – Oyu was fifth in the championship with two podium finishes, while Yamamoto ended up 13th overall with a best finish of sixth.

“At the start of the season, I was able to learn a lot from Yamamoto, but even then, from the early stages I was faster than him, and I was able to carry the team with my speed and set-up preferences to bring the team into a higher position,” says Oyu of the match-up.

“Last year was a really terrible season. But this year I’ve shown some good results and I’m happy to have been able to lead this team. And that is the reason we are able to battle the likes of Impul, Dandelion and [Tomoki] Nojiri, because I was able to push the team forward.

“This season I was aiming to win the championship, so it’s been frustrating in that regard. But last year I was quick but not so consistent, and this year I’ve been able to show much more consistency, so I’m happy about that at least.”

I feel like I’m getting more and more confident, and still now I feel I want to race overseas. My goal is not to just stay in Japan

Toshiki Oyu

Indeed, Oyu was a little unlucky to only end up fifth in the standings, as he went into the Suzuka season finale third and well-placed to take second, only to be pushed into the gravel on the second lap by the already-crowned champion Nojiri (who was penalised as a result).

But at the same time, it’s clear that Nakajima Racing has work to do to return to its level of competitiveness in 2019, when Palou came within a whisker of giving the team a first drivers’ title in a decade.

“Even with Alex, the team struggled with the race pace towards the end of the season,” says Oyu about the team’s struggles since then. “During that off-season, when I joined the team, it seems many other teams progressed a lot and we lost a bit of ground to our rivals at that time.

“For example, Mugen has created a very good structure and they were very have been fast in terms of development. Nojiri also has a lot of experience of setting up the car, he has been in this championship for many more years than I have. He has that knowledge, which is not comparable to mine, so that’s another difference.”

Nojiri (16) and Oyu (64) go side-by-side at Suzuka moments before the pair make contact, sending Oyu into the gravel

Oyu looks set for another season of Super Formula in 2022, albeit probably driving for a different team as Otsu, who made a belated full-time debut in the series this year as Nojiri’s teammate at Mugen, appears likely to join Yamamoto at Nakajima Racing next year.

There had been talk in the paddock of Oyu finally getting his chance in Europe in Formula 2 as part of a deal with Red Bull to ‘swap’ junior drivers. However, that plan appears to have hit the buffers, so Oyu seems likely to end up either in Mugen's Red Bull-liveried #15 car or at Dandelion.

Oyu acknowledges that Honda’s impending withdrawal as a Formula 1 engine supplier doesn’t help his cause when it comes to getting a chance to race in Europe in the future. But his interests in motorsport are wide-ranging, and not simply limited to Super Formula and F1.

“I feel like I’m getting more and more confident, and still now I feel I want to race overseas,” he says. “If there’s a chance I want to race in Europe, but it’s hard to get a chance. The number of young drivers in Europe will decrease [with Honda leaving F1], so that makes it even harder.

“That said, I’m not only interested in F1, I’m also interested in IndyCar, WEC… even drifting! I want to try a lot of different things. Any chance I get can be a good experience. My goal is not to just stay in Japan.”

Oyu is a rare breed in Japanese motorsport, as the 23-year-old hails from the northernmost island of Hokkaido – famed for its seafood, snowy weather and ski resorts. Racing drivers from this part of the country are few and far between, and from a relatively early age the young Oyu was making trips alone all over Japan to race karts.

Another thing that makes Oyu stand out from his peers is that he is not afraid to express his individuality – exemplified by a Twitter post that appeared on his account just before the Suzuka Super Formula finale. In it, he struck a model-like pose in front of his #64 Nakajima Racing car, wearing his own clothes, sunglasses, flashy jewellery and even a hint of make-up. In other words, more Lewis Hamilton than Naoki Yamamoto – something he feels more of his compatriots should embrace.

“I want to have fun,” Oyu says when asked about the importance of standing out off-track as well as on it. “I think it’s important to express your personality, and there are not so many people like that in Japan. It would be nice if people were more expressive.

“I really like Lewis Hamilton’s fashion style, he’s cool. And seeing Lando Norris doing the gaming stuff as well… it’s good for each driver to show his individual personality, and I would like to see more of that in Japan.”

It’s clear Oyu has the natural talent to win the Super Formula title, and even excel overseas if the chance does come one day. Perhaps joining Tsunoda on the F1 grid might be too much to hope for, but then again, the likes of current Japanese heroes Takuma Sato, Kamui Kobayashi and Kazuki Nakajima are arguably better known for their exploits outside of grand prix racing.

If the quirky, bushy-haired boy who was inspired to take up motor racing by the anime ‘Capeta’ continues his current progression, it’s not impossible to imagine him outgrowing Japan’s domestic scene and spreading his wings abroad.

We conclude by asking Oyu where he sees himself in five years’ time. After some hesitation, the reply comes: “I want to be known as the number one Japanese driver worldwide. I want people all over the world to go, when they think about Japanese drivers, ‘ah, it’s him’.”

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