Red Bull junior Iwasa to replace Ricciardo for Japanese GP FP1

Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa will take over Daniel Ricciardo’s RB car in next week’s Japanese GP opening practice session.

The 22-year-old Super Formula racer’s outing will mark his official Grand Prix weekend debut, having already sampled an F1 car with RB – previously AlphaTauri – at last November’s young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

With Iwasa joining Yuki Tsunoda in next week’s FP1 at Suzuka, the session will also mark a historic moment for Japan as it will be the first time that an F1 team fields an all-Japanese lineup in a session.

As a reminder, F1 teams are mandated to enter a young driver in at least two practice sessions over the course of the season. This year, RB’s duo of young talent includes Iwasa and F2 charger Isack Hadjar who made his free practice debut with AlphaTauri at last years Mexican GP.

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Official Red Bull F1 reserve Liam Lawson is no longer eligible for an FP1 outing as a young driver, having taken part in five Grands Prix last season with AlphaTauri.

“I am very happy to be able to participate in an official F1 session in my home country, and I am excited to be able to take the first step toward the realisation of my dream – winning races and capture the world championship title for many consecutive years in F1, the world’s most prestigious series," Iwasa said.

RB team principal Laurent Mekies says Iwasa impressed the team when he tested with the Faenza-based squad in Abu Dhabi last year. Since, the young rookie has been honing his skills in the simulator.

“He did a great job in the Abu Dhabi test at the end of last year when he drove for us for the first time”, commented Mekies.

"Since then, he has been doing a lot a valuable work in our simulator, including providing live race support.

"This on-track experience will be important for his growth as a young driver, as well as providing him and our engineers with a useful real-track correlation of the work he carries out for us in the simulator."

A winner in 2020 of the French F4 Championship, Iwasa graduated to the FIA Formula 3 Championship a year later before spending two years in F2, a period during which he won 5 races with DAMS, finishing 4th and 5th in the championship.

Iwasa finished 9th on his recent Super Formula debut with Mugen at Suzuka.

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