Red Bull gets another Japanese driver within its own training programme

Red Bull has brought another Japanese driver to Formula 1 with Yuki Tsunoda, thus fulfilling a wish of Honda. Helmut Marko is not stopping there, however, as another Japanese driver has joined Red Bull's ranks.

Honda has been busy training Japanese juniors since their return to Formula 1. The last time a Japanese drove in Formula 1 was in 2014, and we have to go back even further to find a competitive Japanese driver. That was Takuma Sato, who left F1 at the end of 2008.

With Honda's departure from F1, this training programme seemed to be diluted, but with the arrival of Tsunoda, a dream came true for Honda. Finally a Japanese driver in F1 again and with Tsunoda, a pearl seemed to have been found. Unnoticed, however, another Japanese driver has been included in the programme.

Without any notification from Red Bull Racing, the name Ayumu Iwasa has been added to the list of talents on the Red Bull website. The 19-year-old from Japan won the French Formula 4 Championship in 2020. That was impressive for his first year in Europe, after winning several karting titles in Japan and some honours in formula cars. It is not yet known in which class Iwasa will race for Red Bull in 2021.