New Zealander Callum Hedge wrapped up the Formula Regional Americas title last weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, ending the season with an impressive tally of 13 wins from a possible 18.
As such, Hedge is entitled to the $600,000 scholarship prize to put towards securing a seat with a Honda-powered Super Formula team in 2024.
However, the press release issued by Hedge’s team in the wake of his success made no mention at all of the scholarship, while FRA's own release likewise didn’t reference Super Formula, stating only that Hedge “secured a prize” from HPD.
The lack of any mention of Super Formula in both Hedge and FRA’s communications corresponds with talk that the Kiwi youngster has clear aspirations to race in Indy NXT next season, the 19-year-old having tested the car last month.
Contacted for comment by Motorsport.com, HPD commercial boss John Whiteman clarified discussions about Hedge’s next step “included but were not limited” to Super Formula, promising an official announcement on the topic “very soon”.
Assuming that Hedge indeed passes up the chance to race in Japan, he would be the second FRA champion in three years to do so, with 2021 title winner Kyffin Simpson electing to forego the scholarship fund in favour of an alternative arrangement with HPD.
Simpson’s successor Raoul Hyman was the first HPD scholarship winner to drive in Super Formula, but it looks like he may end up being the only one, as the $600,000 prize was only confirmed through the 2023 season and may not be renewed.
That’s partly because Honda will no longer be the engine supplier to FRA (and its junior series, US Formula 4) next season, as the championship switches to Ligier engines in 2024.
A press release issued last month stated that the 2024 FRA champion will be “awarded a scholarship to assist in the next step of their career”, without providing further details.
Author’s view: Hyman’s season a sad ending to a great idea
If this is indeed the end of the road for the HPD scholarship prize, Hyman’s dismal 2023 season with B-Max Racing would be an unfortunate way for the scheme to be remembered.
Launched in early 2021, when memories of Alex Palou successfully making the step to IndyCar the previous year from Super Formula were still fresh, the scholarship was launched to much fanfare, promising to open up a new pathway for foreign drivers to race in Japan.
While Simpson’s decision to turn down racing in Super Formula was at least partly informed by travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, ex-GP3 and FIA F3 racer Hyman could and should have been a valuable addition to the Super Formula grid.
At one stage last year, there was talk that the HPD scholarship could even see Hyman land at Team Mugen, but that was before Red Bull ended its one-year alliance with Team Goh to rekindle its former partnership with the reigning champion team.
Team Goh could have also ended up providing a home for Hyman, but Kazumichi Goh’s lack of interest in continuing in the series after the loss of the Red Bull money scuppered those plans. And so, the $600,000 fund finally ended up in the hands of B-Max, a team that was ill-equipped to do much more than simply provide a car for Hyman.
A lack of engineering staff at B-Max meant Hyman had to supply his own engineer in the form of ex-IndyCar man Tim Neff. But it quickly became clear that the #51 side of the garage was a ‘team within a team’, with B-Max management showing no interest in finding a way to help Hyman out of the competitive doldrums once it had banked the HPD cheque.
Likewise, requests for a change of chassis - even after Hiroki Otsu drove Hyman’s car in the in-season test at Fuji and verified the problems - went unheeded by Honda.
One cannot help but feel for Hyman, whose career hangs in the balance after failing to finish any higher than 15th all season - certainly not an accurate reflection of the talents of a driver who went toe-to-toe with Liam Lawson in the 2019 Toyota Racing Series.
Looking back on his 2023 campaign at last month’s Suzuka finale, Hyman told Motorsport.com: “The season has been very disappointing. We won the scholarship to come and compete and I’ve not had the package to be able to compete on any occasion.
“We finished the year pretty much where we started, which is nowhere close to where I feel capable of being. We’ve known for a long time that this car has had an issue but we never got the chance to try something else. It’s tough to take, but that’s the way it is.
“I would love to be able to do the rookie test [at Suzuka on December 6-8], if only to have a taste of what a Super Formula car should taste like. I don’t think I’ve had that yet. If there’s an opportunity I would love to take it, and I’m doing my best to make it happen.”
It’s hard to escape the feeling that the HPD scholarship fund was something that Honda’s Japanese arm only agreed to reluctantly, and that it was never too enthused by the idea of having to incorporate a driver from Formula Regional Americas into its Super Formula roster.
Whether or not that was the case, it’s still a big shame that a chance to strengthen Super Formula’s position on the international single-seater racing pyramid wasn’t seized more firmly.
