The Latest Breaking News from Super Formula

After qualifying for last week’s Golden Week classic, there would have been short odds on a Honda victory, with NSX-GT crews starting first and third. Without a power steering issue for the #8 ARTA car, it might have been three Bridgestone Honda squads starting ahead of the #36 TOM’S Toyota…

The Turkish driver made the move to Japan's top single-seater series after a tough part-campaign in Formula 2 last year, joining race winner Toshiki Oyu at the Honda-powered TGM Grand Prix team.

Super Formula may have entered a new era on track with the new SF23 car this year, but behind the scenes there has been another change at least as significant when it comes to determining the future direction of the series.

Lawson has switched to Japan’s top single-seater series for his 2023 campaign after two seasons in F2, causing a sensation by winning on his debut for Team Mugen at Fuji Speedway earlier this month.

The two-time champion was beaten in a straight fight by Lawson in Saturday’s curtain-raiser, although Nojiri struck back with a straightforward win from pole in the second race.

From sixth on the grid, Kondo Racing man Yamashita finished third on Sunday behind Tomoki Nojiri and Sho Tsuboi, albeit finishing fourth on the road and gaining a place from Liam Lawson’s penalty.

At the start of the race, polesitter Nojiri immediately moved to the right to cover off a fast-charging Toshiki Oyu, who had made a blistering start from third on the grid to pass Ritomo Miyata for second.

At the start of the race, polesitter Nojiri immediately moved to the right to cover off a fast-charging Toshiki Oyu, who had made a blistering start from third on the grid to pass Ritomo Miyata for second.

Lawson stunned the Japanese series' establishment by becoming the first driver in the modern era of Super Formula to win first time out, after pulling off an undercut strategy to pass Mugen team-mate and two-time champion Tomoki Nojiri.