'Dream is not driving for Red Bull, but becoming world champion'

Red Bull Racing junior Ayumu Iwasa has been part of the Austrian racing stable's junior programme since 2021. The 21-year-old Japanese explains that his dream is not necessarily to drive for Red Bull, but he wants to become world champion in the king class of motorsport: Formula 1. In a wide-ranging interview with Japan's Auto Sport.

"My dream is not to drive in Formula 1 with Red Bull or Aston Martin. I only have one dream, and that is to become world champion in Formula 1. Ultimately, it's about my performance in Formula 2. If you perform well and are recognised by everyone, you are the kind of driver who gets called for everything. That is the kind of driver I want to be at the moment," Iwasa says.

Like fellow competitor Liam Lawson, Iwasa may have a chance of getting a Formula 1 seat at Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri. The Japanese tells of Lawson. "Liam's performances in his first year in Japan, where the culture and environment are so different, are great. Still, at the moment I don't feel that I am losing out to him in terms of driver performance," Iwasa reveals.

Iwasa has currently managed to score 134 in Formula 2. With this point total, he is now third in the world championship. Only Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti are above him in the rankings.