
After a tough few years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Super Formula re-emerged as a viable stepping stone to Formula 1 last year thanks to the exploits of Liam Lawson. Although Lawson wasn’t quite able to convince Red Bull to give him a race seat at the team now known as RB, success in Japan helped put him firmly on the F1 radar even before his five stand-in appearances for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri last year.
This season, another high-profile gaijin with clear F1 aspirations is hoping to make a similar impact in Super Formula: reigning F2 champion Theo Pourchaire. Pourchaire finds himself in a slightly different position to Lawson, however.