Red Bull junior driver Ayumu Iwasa will drive AlphaTauri’s AT04 during the post-season test day at Yas Marina following this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Iwasa, who currently competes in Formula 2 with DAMS, will run a full day programme in one of AlphaTauri’s two cars. Race drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will share the cockpit of the team’s second car throughout the day.It will be Iwasa’s first ever run in a Formula 1 car. He will be one of eight drivers who have never competed in a grand prix to run during the test day, joining Oliver Bearman with Haas, Franco Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan for Williams, Frederik Vesti for Mercedes, Pato O’Ward in the McLaren, Theo Pourchaire for Alfa Romeo and Robert Shwartzman in the Ferrari. Pietro Fittipaldi, who competed in two races at the end of the 2020 season for Haas, will run alongside Bearman in the VF-23 on Tuesday.
Red Bull have also confirmed Iwasa will race in the Japanese Super Formula series in 2024, but have not announced which team he will be racing with. He will follow the footsteps of fellow Red Bull junior Liam Lawson, who moved into the Super Formula series last year before being called up to replace Ricciardo for five rounds after the team’s regular driver was injured.
Iwasa currently sits third in the F2 championship standings, behind Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti, ahead of this weekend’s finale at Yas Marina. He has a slim chance to win the title if he scores maximum points, and is on course to improve on the fifth place he finished in his rookie campaign in the series last year.
The 22-year-old has taken three race victories in this year’s F2 championship at the Jeddah sprint race, Melbourne feature race and Monaco sprint race. He has also taken three additional podium finishes and secured one pole position.
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Jere (@jerejj)
23rd November 2023, 10:07
Unsurprising & I guess Williams will run three or even four drivers since Sargeant had already been confirmed before.
Additionally, Iwasa will most certainly drive in Team Mugen as a direct replacement for Lawson.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd November 2023, 10:35
Edit: I just found out the official confirmation about joining Mugen specifically alongside Nojiri.
Shimks (@shimks)
23rd November 2023, 12:13
Ooh, looks to me like Williams will replace Sargeant with Frederik Vesti for 2024. I really can’t see it not happening, even if Vesti doesn’t beat Pourchaire to the F2 driver’s championship this weekend. Vesti is so much more talented than Sargeant.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd November 2023, 13:03
Nothing more than speculation without foundation based on what some third-party individual’s view rather than anything concrete.