Written by Tarun Suresh, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Super Formula makes its final appearance on the 2024 calendar, featuring the final two rounds at Suzuka. The Honda-owned circuit spans a little less than six kilometres, and 18 turns.
Heading into the season finale, Sho Tsuboi has one hand on the driver’s championship trophy and has the opportunity to become only the sixth driver to win both the Super Formula and Super GT titles in the same year. Despite a comfortable 14.5-point lead, the title fight could go right down to the wire.
Nojiri will be the favourite to win the season's final two races. He has won a third of the Super Formula races held around this configuration from 2019 onwards, including the season opener this year. He will be hungry for the title this season, given he lost the title by only 8.5 points last year, despite missing one race.
Tsuboi is no slouch around this circuit, but he will be fighting Nojiri for the title in the circuit where he goes best. At the same time, making up 16.5 points in two races on Tsuboi, who has been one of the most formidable drivers this season, is no easy task.
Tadasuke Makino, who is second in the standings should not be discounted from the title fight either. He has had a very solid season so far, being one of the three drivers to win a race this season. But he faces formidable competition in Tsuboi and Nojiri.
Ayumu Iwasa and Nirei Fukuzumi remain in contention for the title, mathematically but being 31 and 40.5 points behind Tsuboi respectively, they need more than just good luck to snatch the title.
The title contenders are not the only contenders for the win, however, the KCMG duo of Nirei Fukuzumi and Kamui Kobayashi are coming off a very strong weekend in Fuji, and after missing out on the win in the first Fuji race, will be motivated to win at least a race before ending the season.
The teammates of championship contenders Nojiri and Makino, Ayumu Iwasa and Kakunoshin Ohta have a good chance to win yet another race, and Iwasa desperately needs to prove his worth to the higher-ups at Red Bull to get a seat in F1 if a vacancy at VCARB opens up.
With Honda leaving Red Bull and Red Bull ending its partnership with Team Mugen, these last two races will be very important in deciding how his career pans out from now on.
With Toyota announcing its partnership with Haas, there is now a path for the Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers on the grid to enter F1 or its feeder series.
The Super Formula silly season is bound to kick off soon and this weekend will be important, especially for those at risk of losing their seats to prove their worth to the teams.
Ahead of the weekend, Japanese racing legend Naoki Yamamoto announced his retirement from Super Formula. The three-time Super Formula champion has nine wins, 20 podiums and 13 poles under his belt.
Yamamoto is also the only driver to win both Super Formula and Super GT drivers titles in the same season more than once, achieving the feat once in 2018 and once in 2020. While he won’t exactly be ending his career on a high, he’s got a career he can be proud of, one most drivers of the grid would envy.
Here are my predictions for rounds 8 and 9 and for the Drivers title:
Round 8: Tomoki Nojiri
Round 9: Ayumu Iwasa
Championship: Tsuboi
Let us know your predictions in the replies!
How will the title fight play out in the final two races? Will Tsuboi win his maiden title and prove himself a worthy successor to Ritomo Miyata? Will Nojiri succeed in his chase for his third title after losing out by a tiny margin last year?
Will Makino add himself to the list of great drivers who have won a title in both Super Formula and Super GT? Or will either Iwasa pull off an impossible comeback to snatch the title (this one might be a bit too unlikely)?
Tune in to the races to find out! Qualifying for round eight starts at 9:05 AM local time (00:05 GMT) on Saturday. Qualifying for round nine starts at 9:15 AM (00:15 GMT) on Sunday. The races commence at 14:30 (05:30 GMT) on both days.
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