Formula One drivers from Japan

There has been a total of 20 Formula One drivers from Japan, with varying degrees of success.^[1][2]

Former drivers

The first Japanese Formula One driver was Hiroshi Fushida. He qualified for the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, but a blown engine prevented him from starting the race. He failed to qualify for the British round later in the season.

Masahiro Hasemi started one World Championship race, the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix. He came into the event having won the non-championship Japanese GP the year prior. He finished the race 11th and 7 laps down, the last classified finisher.

Masami Kuwashima was entered in the 1976 Japanese GP with Wolf-Williams. He participated in the first practice session and was promptly replaced with Hans Binder having posted very uncompetitive times. He never entered another event.

Noritake Takahara participated in the Japanese Grands Prix of 1976 and 1977. He finished 9th in the former and retired following a first-lap crash with Mario Andretti and Binder in the latter.

Motocross turned open-wheel racer Kazuyoshi Hoshino also participated in the first 2 World Championship Japanese Grands Prix. "The fastest man in Japan" retired from the 1976 race due to recurring tyre problems, before finishing 11th and 2 laps down in the 1977 edition.

"The Father of Drifting" was the last Japanese driver to enter an F1 race for a decade. Kunimitsu Takahashi entered a single race, the 1977 Japanese GP, and finished a respectable 9th place.

Katayama driving for Tyrrell at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

Satoru Nakajima became the first full-time Japanese Formula One driver in 1987, as a Honda-affiliated driver for Team Lotus alongside established Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna. In a career that spanned 5 seasons and 80 Grands Prix, he made a name for himself as a respected mid-field runner, who despite never beating his team-mates in the Drivers' Championship was known as a formidable competitor.

Aguri Suzuki became the first Japanese racer to score a podium in a World Championship race when he finished 3rd in his home race in 1990. He made his debut 2 years earlier, with Larrousse, and raced in the top tier for 8 years on-and-off with 5 separate teams.

Naoki Hattori entered 2 Grands Prix, the 1991 events held in Japan and Australia as a replacement for Pedro Chaves. He failed to qualify for either race.

Inoue driving for Footwork at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

The most capped Japanese F1 driver is Ukyo Katayama. In a career that spanned 97 Grands Prix over 6 seasons, he scored a total of 5 World Championship points, all of them for the Tyrrell team in 1994. His career was largely unspectacular, failing to finish in 61 out of the 95 races he started, along with a disqualification in the 1996 European Grand Prix.

Toshio Suzuki (no relation to Aguri) qualified for the Japanese and Australian rounds of the 1993 season. He finished both races outside the points.

Hideki Noda became the Larrousse team's 4th different driver to race in the #19 Larrousse LH94 when he competed in the final 3 races of the 1994 season. He failed to finish any of them.

Sato driving for Super Aguri at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Taki Inoue debuted with the Simtek team at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, failing to finish. Despite this, Footwork Arrows snapped him up for the 1995 season where he would complete the season, scoring no points and etching his name into infamy through 2 bizarre incidents at the Monaco and Hungarian Grands Prix. He did not retain his drive the following season.

Mugen-affiliated driver Shinji Nakano made his debut with the Prost team in 1997 in return for an engine supply deal. He scored 2 points with 6th pace finishes in Canada and Hungary. He was dropped by the team when they switched to Peugeot engines in 1998, and was picked up by the Minardi squad. He failed to score any points that year, and was dropped post-season.

Tora Takagi was scouted by Satoru Nakajima from an early age, and was fast-tracked to a Formula One seat with Tyrrell for the 1998 season. His uncompetitiveness led to his dismissal post-season, where he was hired by Arrows for 1999. This only hampered his progress and, having never scored a point in his 2-year stint in the sport, he was dumped at the end of the season.

Kazuki Nakajima driving for Williams at the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix.

The 2002 season saw the debut of Takuma Sato, having been hired by the Jordan team due to his relationship with Honda. His debut season was one of contrasts, from a 5th-place finish in his home race to a spectacular crash in Austria. His inconsistency led to him being replaced by Ralph Firman. He was hired by B.A.R. as a test driver for the 2003 season and was elevated to a race seat for the last race of the season following the departure of Jacques Villeneuve. The next 2 seasons were also contrasting - from scoring his only podium finish at the 2004 United States Grand Prix to the suspension of the team's competition for a period of the 2005 season. He was hired by Aguri Suzuki's team for the 2006 season and spearheaded the backmarker team for it's lifespan. He scored the only points for the team at the Spanish and Canadian round of the 2007 season before his career ended when the Super Aguri team pulled out before the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix. He attempted to join Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2009 but was unsuccessful.

Yuji Ide was hired by the Super Aguri team in 2006 as part of the team's plan to field the first all-Japanese line-up in Formula One history. He participated in the first 4 races of the season before having his FIA Super License revoked due to his backmarker status and a large crash he caused with Christijan Albers. He was replaced with Franck Montagny.

Kobayashi driving for Sauber at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix.

Sakon Yamamoto was signed as a test driver of Super Aguri following the revoking of Ide's Super License. He made his debut in the German round later in the season, and retired from his first 4 races. He did on-and-off stints with Spyker in 2007 and HRT in 2010, failing to score a point in any of the subsequent Grands Prix he entered. His final appearance was the 2010 Korean Grand Prix.

At the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, Kazuki Nakajima (son of Satoru) became the first 2nd-generation Japanese F1 driver. He filled the seat of Alexander Wurz, who had retired with immediate effect following the previous race. He made all his 36 starts with Williams alongside fellow 2nd-generation racer Nico Rosberg, with a best result of 6th at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix. He was dropped in favour of Rubens Barrichello for the 2010 season, and was signed by new-team candidate Stefan GP, who subsequently failed to make the grid and Kazuki was left without a drive.

Kamui Kobayashi was the most recent Japanese driver in Formula One. He made his debut at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix for Toyota Racing following a flare-up of an injury for regular driver Timo Glock. He was retained for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi and scored a points-finish. This led to the Sauber team snapping him up for the next 3 seasons, where he consistently finished in points-scoring positions and made his name as an aggressive mid-pack racer. He was rewarded for his efforts with a podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, along with 3 other podium finishes for team-mate Sergio Pérez. Despite this, he was left without a drive for the 2013 season. For 2014 he was signed to the backmarker Caterham F1 alongside debutant Marcus Ericsson - and inevitably struggled with the financially inferior team. He was replaced with André Lotterer for the event in Belgium, and sat out the rounds in America and Brazil due to the team's financial issues. Kobayashi's (and Caterham's) last race ended in a retirement.

Timeline

Full-time drivers

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  Satoru Nakajima (1987–1991)

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  Aguri Suzuki (1990–1993)

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  Ukyo Katayama (1992–1997)

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  Taki Inoue (1995)

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  Shinji Nakano (1997–1998)

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  Toranosuke Takagi (1998–1999)

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  Takuma Sato (2002, 2004–2007)

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  Kazuki Nakajima (2008–2009)

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  Kamui Kobayashi (2010–2012, 2014)

References