Super Formula enters a new era: 2023 team-by-team preview

After some lean years, not helped by the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like Super Formula is 'back' this season. Japan's borders are now fully open, which has resulted in a minor influx of new international drivers, and the grid itself is up to a healthy 22 cars, the highest number since 2007.

But the thing that really makes this the most anticipated Super Formula campaign in years is the new Dallara SF23, a major refresh of the previous SF19 car featuring revised aerodynamics designed to reduce downforce and promote better racing. Throw in new, faster-degrading sustainable Yokohama tyres, and the ingredients are there for a real shake-up of the competitive order.

Teams have had just one pre-season test to prepare for the new season, which took place last month at Suzuka. Reigning two-time champion Tomoki Nojiri was fastest overall, but concluded the test with an uncharacteristic spin - and hardly sounded optimistic of his chances of becoming the series' first driver to make it three titles in a row since Satoru Nakajima in 1986.

 

Likewise, Nojiri's race engineer Toshihiro Ichise made an interesting observation that helps to explain why previously underperforming teams such as Nakajima Racing and KCMG are looking like strong bets heading into the new season.

"I think the competitive order from last year could be overturned," said Ichise. "With the SF19, I think most teams were struggling with understeer. So with the SF23, those teams will now be in the correct window in terms of balance. The teams like us that did well with the SF19 are struggling with oversteer, and the teams that had understeer are now in the window."

With that in mind, let's take a look at each team in turn, what they have changed for 2023 and how they might perform at the start of this brave new era...

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Team Mugen (Honda)

Drivers: 1.  Tomoki Nojiri, 15.  Liam Lawson

What’s changed for 2023: Return of Red Bull junior team association with the energy drink firm’s branding on both cars, Ukyo Sasahara replaced by Lawson as second driver.

Prospects: Strong. In any season with a new car, the dominant team with the previous package has the most to lose. In this case, that’s Mugen, the only squad to truly crack the SF19 formula both over a single lap and a race distance, but the SF23’s shift towards an oversteer balance has left Nojiri feeling pensive heading into the new campaign. That said, the two-time champion’s virtuosity combined with Mugen’s engineering strength in depth means that it can only be a matter of time before he’s back at the front, even if he gets off to a shaky start. Red Bull junior Lawson meanwhile showed well in testing but a lack of track knowledge will count against him at Fuji. Expect him to have his best chances to challenge Nojiri at Suzuka, where he has tested, and on the series’ return to Fuji in July.

Tomoki Nojiri, TEAM MUGEN

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

 

Kondo Racing (Toyota)

Drivers: 3.  Kenta Yamashita, 4.  Kazuto Kotaka

What’s changed for 2023: Kotaka replacing Formula E-bound Sacha Fenestraz, chassis and race engineers (Takuji Murata and Kazuya Abe) swapped from 2022.

Prospects: Middling. Already facing the considerable loss of last year’s runner-up Fenestraz, Kondo’s hopes of a strong start to the SF23 era were dealt a further blow when Kenta Yamashita injured his back in a SUPER GT testing crash, forcing him to miss the one and only pre-season test. That makes it hard to predict that he will be fighting towards the front of the field to begin with, although armed with Fenestraz’s 2022 chassis and race engineer Murata, the potential for progress is there later in the season. Toyota protege and Super Formula Lights champion Kotaka performed respectably in testing and will be hoping to take advantage of Yamashita’s lack of test miles to assert himself early on, and in the process expunge painful memories of his lacklustre 2021 part-season for KCMG.

 

 

Dandelion Racing (Honda)

Drivers: 5.  Tadasuke Makino, 6.  Kakunoshin Ota

What’s changed for 2023: Hiroki Otsu loses seat in #6 car in favour of rookie Ota, although Otsu did make a one-off return in pre-season testing as an injury substitute.

Prospects: Uncertain. Dandelion established itself as one of the more consistent squads of the SF19 era, never finishing lower than fourth in the teams’ standings, but the Docomo-backed outfit’s position as second-strongest Honda outfit looks under serious threat from both Nakajima Racing and TGM Grand Prix on the basis of pre-season testing. Tadasuke Makino was seventh-fastest overall, but with the caveat that Dandelion usually performs strongly at Suzuka, and the characteristics of the SF23 car are unlikely to suit a driver known to prefer a stable rear end. Any chance of that elusive first win could depend on Makino successfully adapting to an oversteering car. Ota joins his Super Formula Lights title rival Kotaka in the top class this season, but like Yamashita he was injured for the Suzuka test after a SUPER GT crash, and is therefore unlikely to feature much initially.

 

 

KCMG (Toyota)

Drivers: 7.  Kamui Kobayashi, 18.  Yuji Kunimoto

What’s changed for 2023: Arrival of ex-racer Tetsuya Tanaka as ‘race manager’ - essentially a second team director alongside Tsugio Matsuda - and return of Akinori Kasai as race engineer to Kunimoto after a brief spell in a more general technical role.

Prospects: Encouraging. KCMG boss Ryuji Doi has gone all-out to ensure this season is a drastic improvement on a chastening 2022, and so far it seems to be paying off. Tanaka, who raced in Formula Nippon and SUPER GT’s top flight in the late 90s/early 00s, is working on Kobayashi’s side of the garage as an additional bridge to the engineering staff, helping the ex-F1 star to the top time on the second day of Suzuka testing. With Kobayashi’s schedule increasingly occupied by his WEC duties, there’s a feeling this year could be one of his last chances to get the win that’s escaped him for so long. Kunimoto, the 2016 champion, also contributed to the sense of a team on the up with third-best time in Session 3 at Suzuka, and will be hoping the undivided attention of team director Matsuda will help him climb the order.

 

 

ThreeBond Racing (Honda)

Driver: 12.  Nirei Fukuzumi

What’s changed for 2023: Distinctive new orange and blue livery, ThreeBond taking over sole ownership of the team from Drago Corse (which continues to handle car maintenance), arrival of Koudai Tsukakoshi as a team advisor.

Prospects: Bleak. Despite an off-season rebranding, not too much is different about the one-car ThreeBond squad compared to last year, with Ryo Michigami staying on as team director and Hitoshi Iyoki continuing to head up the engineering side, although Tsukakoshi brings good knowledge of the SF23 having been part of the car’s development process. Fukuzumi would be forgiven for having buyer’s remorse after leaving Dandelion to join the team last year, and after struggling in Suzuka testing, the 26-year-old seemed downtrodden, almost miserable when discussing his chances of an improved campaign in 2023. Some big results this year will surely be needed to keep this partnership on the road.

 

Rookie Racing (Toyota)

Driver: 14.  Kazuya Oshima

What’s changed for 2023: Two-time champion Hiroaki Ishiura takes over as team director, engineering system strengthened by arrival of ex-Impul man Yoshihito Kashiwagi.

Prospects: Surprisingly good. In contrast to fellow one-car team ThreeBond, the Akio Toyoda-owned Rookie outfit has made considerable changes for 2023, with Ishiura, a former team-mate of Oshima in SUPER GT, becoming the second 'big name' signing following long-time TOM’s engineering guru Tsutomu Tojo last year. Oshima was competitive in pre-season testing, even topping one of the four sessions at Suzuka, and said that he strangely feels more rear stability than he had before with the new SF23. Fighting for wins might be too much to hope for, but regular points and perhaps a podium if the stars align can be considered achievable goals for this serial underachieving team.

 

Team Impul (Toyota)

Drivers: 19.  Yuki Sekiguchi, 20.  Ryo Hirakawa

What’s changed for 2023: Black-and-gold livery ditched in favour of return to previous white colours. New race engineer for Sekiguchi in the form of veteran Naruhito Nakamura; Shuuji Kitai recruited from KCMG to fill Nakamura’s old role as Hirakawa’s data engineer.

Prospects: Can’t be discounted. There’s a reason Impul is the most successful team in Formula Nippon/Super Formula history, and so it’s logical to expect the outfit founded by Japanese racing legend Kazuyoshi Hoshino and now run day-to-day by his son Kazuki will still be a force to be reckoned with in the SF23 era. Hirakawa’s quest for a first title continues, but the new car appears to have given him the opposite problem to the one he had last year, with improved one-lap pace but less long-run consistency. If he can get on top of the latter without sacrificing the former, he’ll be a strong contender. Sekiguchi was anonymous in testing and may suffer without long-time engineer Kashiwagi, although it’s always tough to predict the mercurial 35-year-old’s form from year to year.

 

 

TOM’S (Toyota)

Drivers: 36.  Giuliano Alesi, 37.  Ritomo Miyata

What’s changed for 2023: Alesi has a new advisor in the form of ex-Rookie Racing team director Tatsuya Kataoka, but beyond that the status quo is maintained.

Prospects: Depends on your expectations. TOM’S has historically fared well in the first years of new rules cycles - titles in 2014 and ‘19 stand as testament to that - but whether the flagship Toyota team is as strong as it was in those days is open to question. Based on last year’s form, the team's hopes rest on Miyata, who like Hirakawa said he was struggling for long-run pace in the Suzuka test despite his apparent single-lap speed. Qualifying was his strong suit last year, but if passing does turn out to be easier with the SF23, that trait will be decidedly less useful than it was last year. Alesi can count himself fortunate to have kept hold of his seat after a dreadful 2022, but a new car could be what he needs to reset and move forwards, boosted by his trusted confidant (and active SUPER GT racer) Kataoka helping smooth communication with the team.

 

 

Inging (Toyota)

Drivers: 38.  Sho Tsuboi, 39.  Sena Sakaguchi

What’s changed for 2023: Not a great deal on the face of it, besides former team advisor Ishiura departing to take up his new post at Rookie Racing.

Prospects: Not as strong as last year. Inging’s technical reorganisation last year made Tsuboi a pre-season favourite with his prodigious testing pace, but the campaign proved to be a big disappointment. With no major changes made to the team’s set-up for 2023, there’s a danger it could be eclipsed by some of its rivals. That could be bad news for Tsuboi, whose impressive 2020 season must by now feel like an increasingly distant memory. Pre-season testing form suggests he’ll start the season mid-pack, although Fuji has often been a happy hunting ground for the 27-year-old. Sakaguchi is going into his third season at this level, but his sophomore campaign was a big letdown after the promise he displayed in his rookie year. There were few signs of improvement in the Suzuka test for the driver named after Ayrton Senna, who ended up a rather worrying 18th overall. 

 

 

B-Max Racing (Honda)

Drivers: 50.  Nobuharu Matsushita, 51.  Raoul Hyman 

What’s changed for 2023: The addition of a second car for the first time since 2020, when the team was still being run in partnership with Motopark. Departure of Yasuhiro Tasaka as Matsushita’s engineer, with Misashi Miyata replacing him.

Prospects: Better than testing would suggest. Now back to two cars after two seasons of running just a single Honda-powered machine for Matsushita, B-Max should be aiming to be a regular points contender after a 2022 season that yielded a memorable first victory in the wet but no other results to back that up. Despite only managing the 20th-best time in the Suzuka test, Matsushita seems much more upbeat following his off-season change of engineer after growing increasingly frustrated with the team’s lack of progress last year, while Hyman is just delighted to be racing in Japan with the help of HPD’s scholarship money for winning the Formula Regional Americas title. Second-to-last in testing, Hyman faces a steep learning curve, but is being helped by veteran IndyCar engineer Tim Neff, whose fresh perspective from overseas could help the whole team to raise its level.

 

 

TGM Grand Prix (Honda)

Drivers: 53.  Toshiki Oyu, 55.  Cem Bolukbasi

What’s changed for 2023: Team name, driver line-up and livery, following the departure of Red Bull money and Kazumichi Goh ending his formal involvement in the team.

Prospects: Depends which side of the garage you look at. Oyu made a brave gamble to turn down a paid-for drive at Dandelion to join the team formerly known as Team Goh. While the evidence from pre-season testing is hardly conclusive, second-fastest in the final session behind Kobayashi suggests he’s on the right track, and it’s clear Oyu has faith in the Servus Japan outfit responsible for operating the TGM cars - led by Pierre Gasly’s former race engineer Satofumi Hoshi. Oyu has set himself the goal of winning a race this year, and right now you wouldn’t bet against it. Bolukbasi on the other hand will be doing well to score points this year as he arrives in Japan after a part-season in F2 last year. With barely 50 single-seater starts to his name (Lawson, by contrast, has nearly 200), the Turkish driver simply needs to focus on learning as much as possible.

 

 

Nakajima Racing (Honda)

Drivers: 64.  Naoki Yamamoto, 65.  Ren Sato

What’s changed for 2023: Takuya Izawa taking over as team director, albeit with team founder Satoru Nakajima still in overall control. Sato replacing Oyu as second driver, and the race engineers (Jun Okada and Yuki Katoh) being swapped from last season.

Prospects: Solid. The last time Super Formula introduced a new car in 2019, Satoru Nakajima’s eponymous outfit was the team that really took advantage to turn around its fortunes, and it looks like it could be poised to repeat the trick four years on with consistent speed for both cars in pre-season testing. Yamamoto in particular looked strong under the auspices of new engineer Okada, and will be hungry to exact revenge on Honda stablemate Nojiri after two mostly painful seasons since he joined Nakajima. But new team-mate Sato appears quick enough to give the three-time champion some food for thought in his second season, having been given a major vote of confidence by Honda after a shaky rookie campaign with Team Goh. The only question is, does the team have the ability to keep up the pace this year as the likes of Mugen and Impul catch up?