2026 Super Formula Championship
The 2026 Japanese Super Formula Championship will be the fifty-fourth season of premier Japanese single-seater motor racing, and the fourteenth under the moniker of Super Formula. Team Mugen driver Ayumu Iwasa enters the season as the defending series champion.
Teams and drivers
All teams use identical Dallara-built SF23 chassis with either Honda or Toyota engines. Every Honda-powered car uses a Honda HR-417E engine and every Toyota-powered car uses a Toyota TRD-01F engine. All teams compete with tyres supplied by Yokohama.
Team changes
- Super Formula Lights team Delightworks Racing will join the series. The team will use Honda engines and receive operational support from Toda Racing.[10][11]
- TGM Grand Prix will expand to three Toyota-powered cars, adding a single car entered under the Team Goh name which returns to Super Formula after a three-year absence.[12]
- Team Impul will downsize from two cars to one after the team failed to score points in 2025.[6] The team acquired a new title sponsor in industrial equipment company SDG and will enter as Wecars Impul with SDG.[13]
- Transport and logistics company Realize Corporation, a longtime sponsor of Kondo Racing, will officially become the team's title sponsor, with the team entering as Realize Kondo Racing.[6] Kondo Racing also will expand to three Toyota-powered cars, adding a single car entered under the Buzz MK Racing name.[5]
- Automotive parts and accessories retailer Autobacs Seven will officially become Team Mugen's title sponsor, and entering as Team Mugen Autobacs.[2]
Driver changes
- Nobuharu Matsushita will return to Super Formula for the first time since 2024 with the new Delightworks Racing team after a year on the sidelines where he competed in Super GT GT500 with ARTA.[10]
- Two-time FIA World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä announced he would switch to single-seater racing and debut in Super Formula in 2026, before being confirmed to drive for KCMG.[6][14] Ahead of the season, the team announced his withdrawal from the campaign after he was diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. KCMG's reserve driver Seita Nonaka will replace him for the opening round, before the team decides on its lineup afterwards.[8] The other KCMG car will be piloted by Kenta Yamashita, who departed Kondo Racing after nine seasons. Both drivers effectively replaced Kamui Kobayashi and Nirei Fukuzumi, who moved to TGMGP TGR-DC and Rookie Racing respectively.[6]
- Following Yamashita departure to KCMG, Zak O'Sullivan also left Kondo Racing after his rookie season to join Team Impul.[6] That saw Kondo take on two new drivers in Williams F1 Junior Driver Luke Browning, who will make his series debut after one and a half seasons in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and Ukyo Sasahara returns to Super Formula after a year away from the series, where he competed in Super GT GT500 with Deloitte TOM'S.[3][4]
- Rookie Racing signed Nirei Fukuzumi from KCMG to replace Kazuya Oshima, who retire from the series after 13 seasons of competition.[15][6]
- Both Oliver Rasmussen and Mitsunori Takaboshi left Team Impul after one season, with Takaboshi focusing on his Super GT GT500 efforts with NISMO.[16][17] The Team recruited former Kondo Racing driver, Zak O'Sullivan for his sophomore season.[6]
- TGMGP also renewed their lineup as Kazuto Kotaka, Hibiki Taira, and Seita Nonaka all left the team, with Kotaka and Taira focusing on their Super GT GT300 campaigns and Nonaka moving to KCMG. Kamui Kobayashi left KCMG after nine seasons and will drive for TGMGP TGR-DC, using the number 7, the same number he has used in KCMG, and Rikuto Kobayashi will make his full-time Super Formula debut with the team after two seasons in Super Formula Lights and two one-off Super Formula entries for Team Impul in 2025.[6]
- Second-generation driver Charlie Wurz will make his series debut with Team Goh after two seasons in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.[6]
- Reigning Super Formula Lights champion and Honda Formula Dream Project graduate Yuto Nomura will make his series debut with B-Max Racing Team.[1] He will replace Syun Koide, who joined ThreeBond Racing to replace Atsushi Miyake, who departs after two seasons to focus on his Super GT GT500 efforts with Kondo Racing.[9][16]
- After 3 seasons in FIA Formula 2 Championship, Roman Staněk will make his series debut for Kondo's Buzz MK Racing outfit.[5]
Race calendar
The provisional calendar was announced on 5 August 2025, with 12 races held across seven weekends at five venues.[18]
| Round | Circuit | Location | Date | Support bill | Map of circuit locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobility Resort Motegi | Motegi, Tochigi | 4 April | Honda N-One Owner's Cup All Japan Road Race Championship |
|
| 2 | 5 April | ||||
| 3 | Autopolis | Hita, Oita | 25 April | Super Formula Lights Honda N-One Owner's Cup | |
| 4 | Suzuka International Racing Course | Suzuka, Mie | 23 May | Super Formula Lights Formula Regional Japanese Championship | |
| 5 | 24 May | ||||
| 6 | Fuji Speedway | Oyama, Shizuoka | 18 July | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan Kyojo Cup | |
| 7 | 19 July | ||||
| 8 | Sportsland SUGO | Shibata, Miyagi | 9 August | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan Honda N-One Owner's Cup | |
| 9 | Fuji Speedway | Oyama, Shizuoka | 10 October | Formula Regional Japanese Championship Kyojo Cup | |
| 10 | 11 October | ||||
| 11 | Suzuka International Racing Course | Suzuka, Mie | 21 November | Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris Cup - Kansai | |
| 12 | 22 November |
Calendar changes
- The first Suzuka race will move from March to May, with Motegi set as the first round.[19]
Championship standings
Scoring system
- Race points
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- Qualifying points
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 3 | 2 | 1 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Honda 2026 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b "2026年 M-TECモータースポーツ活動概要". Team Mugen. 25 February 2026. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Luke Browning secures Atlassian Williams F1 Team Reserve role as full Driver Academy line-up is announced". Williams F1 Team. 16 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (30 January 2026). "Doohan's Super Formula plans fall through at the last minute". Autosport. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Klein, Jamie (21 February 2026). "F2 race winner Stanek makes Super Formula switch with Kondo Racing". Autosport. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2026 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "TEAM GOH to Field Single-Car Entry in 2026 SUPER FORMULA with Toyota Engine". Team Goh. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ^ a b Howard, Tom (21 March 2026). "Kalle Rovanpera's Super Formula programme suspended after medical evaluation". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
- ^ a b Klein, Jamie (8 January 2026). "B-Max outcast Koide gets his second chance with ThreeBond Racing". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Klein, Jamie (9 August 2025). "Delightworks Racing reveals 2026 Super Formula plans + more news". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ Hirano, Ryuji (9 August 2025). "DELiGHTWORKS RACINGが2026年から1台体制で全日本スーパーフォーミュラ選手権に挑戦へ！松下信治を起用". AutoSport Web. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (5 December 2025). "Team Goh returns to Super Formula for 2026". Autosport. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ^ Hirano, Ryuji (22 November 2025). "SDG、2026年も二輪、四輪でさまざまなモータースポーツ活動を展開へ。TEAM IMPULのスーパーフォーミュラ活動もサポート". Autosport Web. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Kalle Rovanperä takes on exciting new challenge with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in 2026". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (19 July 2025). "Kazuya Oshima announces Super Formula retirement". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ^ a b "Nissan/NMC announces 2026 Super GT GT500 team lineups". Nismo. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (27 November 2025). "Oliver Rasmussen has "no regrets" as he bids Super Formula farewell". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (5 August 2025). "Super Formula reveals 2026 season calendar with new opener". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- ^ "2026 年全日本レース選手権カレンダー一覧" (PDF). Japan Automobile Federation.
