Gasly joins Mugen for Super Formula season

©WRI2

Red Bull junior and 2016 GP2 champion Pierre Gasly will be racing in Japan's Super Formula series this year with Team Mugen.

With a path to Formula 1 currently closed for the 21-year-old, Red Bull is keen on keeping the Frenchman busy with an involvement in Japan's premiere single-seater championship.

Gasly follows in the footsteps of McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne who, following his GP2 title in 2015, spent a year in the country of the rising sun racing in Super Formula.

"It is all going to be very different, I have no experience with the car or the tracks and I know that the Japanese culture, philosophy, way of working, just about everything is different. It is a fantastic new challenge and I love that," Gasly said.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.