Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa will get to drive in the FP1 session with Visa Cash App RB team in next weekend’s F1 Japanese GP.
Iwasa will make it an all-Japanese affair in FP1 of the F1 Japanese GP weekend at Suzuka. The Red Bull junior is to replace Daniel Ricciardo for his first official session as part of the FIA regulation, where it mandates teams to run rookie drivers once in each car.
With Liam Lawson now not eligible for a FP1 session after having competed in F1, Red Bull has decided to give Iwasa a chance instead of F2 racer Isack Hadjar at the moment. The Japanese driver is competing in Super Formula with Team Mugen this year.
Iwasa last drove a F1 car during the Abu Dhabi test with Visa Cash App RB team (AlphaTauri) and will now get to drive the VCARB 01 alongside fellow Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda at his home event in Suzuka. “I’ll be driving for FP1 of F1 Japanese GP,” he said.
“I’m so excited to drive F1 car again and it’s my first official session of F1. I’m very looking forward to drive Visa Cash App RB F1 Team car in front of many fans there.” He further added: “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.”
Meanwhile, team boss Laurent Mekies added: “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. 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.”
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