Ayumu
Iwasa

Ayumu Iwasa was born on 22 September 2001 in Moriguchi, Japan. He started karting in 2005 and began racing nationally in 2014. He made his single-seater debut in 2017, including in Japanese Formula 4. In 2019 he won the Suzuka Racing School Single Seater Series, which brought him support from the Honda Formula Dream Project. In 2020 he became French F4 champion, with nine wins, five pole positions and fifteen podiums. His parents and grandfather also raced.

In 2021 Iwasa was officially announced as a Red Bull Junior. He drove for Hitech Grand Prix in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, took his first win in Hungary after a penalty for the driver who had crossed the line first, and finished twelfth overall. In 2022 he stepped up to Formula 2 with DAMS. He won at Paul Ricard and Yas Marina, took six podiums and finished fifth with 141 points, earning the Anthoine Hubert Award. He stayed with DAMS in 2023, won three races, took one pole position and ended the season fourth with 165 points.

In Formula One, Iwasa took part in tests and free practice sessions. In November 2023 he completed 96 laps in the AlphaTauri at the young drivers' test. In 2024 he drove first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for RB in place of Daniel Ricciardo, and in 2025 he replaced Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing in first practice in Bahrain. Further practice outings for Racing Bulls followed in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi. He did not start a Grand Prix. For 2026 he remained test and reserve driver for Racing Bulls.

In 2024 Iwasa also moved to Super Formula with Team Mugen. He took his first pole position at Autopolis and finished fifth in the standings with three podiums and 63.5 points. In 2025 he won the championship.

Source: Wikipedia, “Ayumu Iwasa”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.