Red Bull and Honda junior Ayumu Iwasa will stay on with DAMS to complete its FIA F2 line-up for the 2023 season.
Having made his F2 debut with DAMS in 2022, Iwasa had a good first season to end up fifth in the standings securing two wins and six podium finishes. The Red Bull and Honda junior showed glimpses of pace throughout the year but was undone by some mistakes.
He is to continue with DAMS in 2023 completing its line-up after announcing Ferrari junior Arthur Leclerc last month. “I’m really happy with my first F2 season, I learned a lot during the year and we were able to improve at each race,” said Iwasa.
“It’s a great feeling to continue with DAMS for another year, I feel at home in the team and we work well together. Everyone was on the same page and that helped us secure plenty of strong results. It’s going to be helpful to come into the new campaign in a familiar environment, along with my experience of several tracks that were new to me in 2022.
“My target is to challenge for the F2 title in 2023. We know we have the potential to achieve it, but we’re not looking too far ahead yet, instead concentrating on being ready for the start of the season. Thanks to DAMS for their faith and support and I can’t wait to get started in 2023!”
Team boss Charles Pic added: “We were all impressed with Ayumu’s performances in 2022, especially with the victories at Paul Ricard and Yas Marina, so we were very keen to keep him for 2023. It’s great for us to continue our relationships with Red Bull and Honda, they trust in our methods and we’ll do our best to succeed together.
“Ayumu proved that he has the potential to fight for the title, he was a major competitor in the second half of the season and we hope he can use this experience to kick on in 2023. We’ve got a strong line up with Ayumu and Arthur, so we’re hoping they can push each other to improve throughout the year.”
2023 F2 line-up so far:
MP Motorsport – Dennis Hauger
Prema – Oliver Bearman, Frederik Vesti
Campos Racing – Ralph Boschung, Kush Maini
DAMS – Arthur Leclerc, Ayumu Iwasa
Trident – Clement Novalak
PHM Racing by Charouz – Roy Nissany, Brad Benavides
Virtuosi Racing – Jack Doohan, Amaury Cordeel