1. Ayumu Iwasa previously competed with DAMS in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, earning Rookie of the Year honours by finishing fifth overall in 2022 and finishing fourth the following year.
66 Facts About Ayumu Iwasa
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Ayumu Iwasa is a member of the Honda Formula Dream Project and Red Bull Junior Team and is the 2020 French F4 champion.
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Ayumu Iwasa competed in the JAF Junior Karting Championship FP in the junior class during his karting career.
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Ayumu Iwasa made his single-seater debut in 2017 in the F4 Japanese Championship competing in two races for B-Max Racing, finishing 15th in both of them.
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Ayumu Iwasa took pole for both races and finished both races in second place.
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In that year, Ayumu Iwasa finished third in the final round of the JAF F4 Suzuka series.
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Ayumu Iwasa did his first full season of car racing in the Suzuka Racing School's Single Seater Series in 2019, where he won the title.
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Ayumu Iwasa won two of three races during the first round, Despite not winning during the next round in Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, he would win two races in every round for the next three rounds.
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Ayumu Iwasa wrapped up the title with three races still to run by taking a double pole during the final round at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
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At the start of 2021 Ayumu Iwasa competed in the F3 Asian Championship, partnering Roy Nissany, Roman Stanek and Reece Ushijima.
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Ayumu Iwasa scored his only podium of the campaign in the first race of the fourth round at the Dubai Autodrome and ended up eighth in the championship.
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Ayumu Iwasa's focus for the year would lie in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, where he drove for the same team alongside Stanek and fellow Red Bull Junior Jak Crawford.
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Ayumu Iwasa had a difficult first round, a poor qualifying saw Iwasa take seventh place and two points during Race 2, in his only points' finish during that weekend.
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Ayumu Iwasa finished third at the flag and was demoted to eighth.
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Race 2 saw Ayumu Iwasa fall from fourth to ninth, while in Race 3 he ended the weekend with more points in seventh.
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At the Red Bull Ring, Ayumu Iwasa started 19th in Race 1 and finished ninth, but was disqualified due to disobeying the instruction to pit while being shown the black and orange flag.
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Ayumu Iwasa recovered to 14th in Race 2, and in a chaotic Race 3 scored points once more in sixth place.
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Ayumu Iwasa achieved his second podium in Race 1, finishing third behind Arthur Leclerc and Logan Sargeant after reverse polesitter Amaury Cordeel spun.
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In Race 2, Ayumu Iwasa went off wide and dropped to last, ultimately retiring from the race.
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In Sochi, Ayumu Iwasa finished tenth and ninth in Race 1 and Race 3, respectively.
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Ayumu Iwasa beat both of his teammates in the standings.
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Ayumu Iwasa participated in post-season testing in FIA F2 at the Yas Marina circuit with DAMS.
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In Bahrain, having finished second in his first free practice, Ayumu Iwasa started last as his came to a halt before he could start a lap in qualifying.
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Ayumu Iwasa finished the sprint race in that position after a battle with both Hitech Grand Prix drivers, and seventh in the feature race.
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Ayumu Iwasa narrowly missed points in ninth place during the sprint race, but had a better feature race.
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Ayumu Iwasa dropped to third at the start but took advantage of the lap 6 safety car by pitting, which costed the other alternate strategy runners.
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Ayumu Iwasa jumped Theo Pourchaire and Jake Hughes at the start into second, and secure his maiden podium in F2 by remaining in that position.
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Ayumu Iwasa charged from 13th to eighth in a hectic sprint race.
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Ayumu Iwasa was unable to chase Jack Doohan and fell short of a maiden victory by 0.9 seconds.
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Ayumu Iwasa ended in eighth place, but was demoted to tenth.
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Ayumu Iwasa added a point to his tally by scoring sixth place in the sprint race.
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In Budapest, Ayumu Iwasa continued his form by taking his first pole by an astonishing four tenths of a second.
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Ayumu Iwasa managed to hold on to third place and his fourth podium from a charging Frederik Vesti.
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Trouble for Doohan ahead meant that Ayumu Iwasa could steer for third place.
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Ayumu Iwasa was overtaken by Frederik Vesti a lap later, and remained in third until the chequered flag.
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However, Ayumu Iwasa was disqualified from the race as the plank on his car was below the thickness required.
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Ayumu Iwasa took his second pole position at the final round in Yas Marina.
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Ayumu Iwasa ended the season fifth in the standings with 141 points, scored two wins and a total of six podiums.
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Ayumu Iwasa continued with DAMS for the 2023 campaign, alongside Ferrari Driver Academy member Arthur Leclerc.
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Ayumu Iwasa struggled in the feature race but secured eighth place.
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Ayumu Iwasa was put under intense pressure from behind, but managed take his first win of the season.
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Ayumu Iwasa finished fourth in the feature race, and thus was the only driver to score points in all four of the opening two rounds.
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Ayumu Iwasa took his first pole of the year in Melbourne.
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Ayumu Iwasa struggled in Baku after a poor qualifying left him down in P17 and finished both races outside the points, dropping to third in the standings.
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Ayumu Iwasa finished tenth in the feature race, after a late red flag saw drivers aheadwho did not pit make up positions.
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Ayumu Iwasa managed to find his form and work his way to eighth.
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Ayumu Iwasa had a good start in the feature race, nearly taking the lead from Martins.
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Ayumu Iwasa opted for the alternate strategy during the feature race which rewarded with a higher finish, ending in fourth place after passing Isack Hadjar late on.
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Ayumu Iwasa was unlucky during Spa-Francorchamps qualifying, securing only 16th due to unpredictable rain weather.
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Ayumu Iwasa made up for lost positions by charging to seventh place in the sprint race.
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However the feature race was much less successful, as Ayumu Iwasa spun on the first lap, and was taken out after being collected by Dennis Hauger.
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Ayumu Iwasa was then given a five-place grid penalty for the next race.
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Ayumu Iwasa had a weekend to forget in Zandvoort, the sprint race cancelled due to heavy rain and his feature race was compromised after early contact with Kush Maini.
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Ayumu Iwasa concluded the season fourth in the standings, amassing 165 points, one pole, three wins and three other podiums.
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Ayumu Iwasa left Formula 2 and moved back to Japan in 2024 for Super Formula, joining Team Mugen alongside two-time series champion Tomoki Nojiri.
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In just his second race in Autopolis, Ayumu Iwasa secured his first pole.
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Ayumu Iwasa again finished runner-up the following round in Sportsland Sugo in a race that ended early due to a crash.
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Ayumu Iwasa ended the season fifth in the standings with 63.5 points, with a total of three podiums.
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At the beginning of 2021 Ayumu Iwasa was officially announced as a Red Bull Junior.
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Ayumu Iwasa made his F1 test debut, driving the AlphaTauri AT04 during the young drivers' test.
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Ayumu Iwasa made his debut in an official Formula One race weekend for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, driving for RB in the first practice session in place of Daniel Ricciardo.
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Ayumu Iwasa placed 16th in his F1 debut, a second behind his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
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Later that year, Ayumu Iwasa participated in free practice during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, finishing the session in 17th.
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Ayumu Iwasa drove the VCARB 01 again during the young drivers' test, completing 110 laps overall.
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Ayumu Iwasa is set to participate in the first free practice session for the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, driving for Red Bull Racing in place of Max Verstappen.
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Ayumu Iwasa is a graduate of Osaka International Senior High School.