From Japan to Spa, the Ritomo Miyata success story grows, one race at a time

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

For the best part of his Formula 2 career, Ritomo Miyata has been chasing the optimal lap time. But plenty changed at the famed Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, when he secured a front row start for the Belgian Feature Race on Sunday alongside pole-sitter Alex Dunne. 

Miyata will start a career best second in Belgium on Sunday | Credit: Formula 2 via X

Second on the road marks Miyata’s best qualifying performance in his F2 career so far. It also marked a rare occasion when the Japanese driver managed to put his ART Grand Prix car ahead of his more illustrious teammate, Victor Martins, a driver who has started almost every race in the top four in 2025. 

When asked if he experienced any frustration on seeing the contrasting qualifying form guides between both ART drivers, Miyata expressed the challenges of settling in during Free Practice and the limited opportunities to do fast laps on the tyres. 

“Yeah, F2 is very difficult, because, you know, the Free Practice is only 45 minutes (long), but we can't do many laps, because the tyres also allow you to push for only one or two laps. In qualifying, it is only one push (lap) on each tyre,” Miyata mentioned. 

Known to be a quick driver when on song, his pace has been subdued during a fledgling F2 career. In Silverstone, Miyata set the ninth quickest time in free practice, but technical issues rendered him to just one out lap in the 30-minute session, leaving him last on the road.   

“Also, this season (2025), I had some issues in qualifying, especially last Silverstone. I had confidence, and the team, too, had confidence, but that happened before the push laps, and I couldn't do any laps. So yeah, it’s always like this, but if not for some reason, we can do a full push lap at full performance.”

“That's why we finished P2 today. For sure, we are missing something from pole position, but better than before. We always try to do our best performance, but F2 is always difficult,” Miyata explained. 

Moving to Europe for the first time

Miyata had raced all his career in Japan, winning the Super Formula series in 2023 | Credit: Japan Race Promotion

Miyata has spent the best part of his motorsport career racing in Japan. A two-time F4 Japan champion and Japanese F3 runner-up, he finally made it to the country’s premier racing series, Super Formula, full-time in 2021, having taken the Super Formula Lights title in 2020 for TOM’S.   

He would then spend two seasons bedding in and racing around some of Japan’s finest tracks, before doing enough to win the Super Formula championship outright in 2023. Miyata’s winning stats included two victories and six podiums on his way to the title, beating current Racing Bulls Formula One driver Liam Lawson along the way. 

2023 marked a year when Miyata conquered two legs of the Japanese triple crown, winning the Super GT season in addition to his heroics in the Super Formula championship. While he is certainly no slouch when it comes to talent, evident by his accolades at every level, many didn’t expect Rodin Motorsport to pair Miyata alongside former Kick Sauber junior Zane Maloney in 2024. 

Miyata had never raced outside Japan until he took part in F2 in 2024 | Credit: Formula 2

It was a sea change for Miyata, who, for the first time, would be racing outside his home country, in the world’s premier feeder series on the planet. The Japanese racer faced an entirely new challenge, racing on some tracks where he’d never turned a single lap, and did not know the track layout by hand. 

“I didn't do any F4 or F3 in Europe, I just came from Japan. It's really difficult to drive fast on the track because, especially last year, when I came to the track, I used to ask: Where is the toilet? Where is the restaurant? Where is Turn 1, and in which direction is it?” expressed Miyata. 

With F2 only running a handful of test sessions at tracks such as the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and a post-season test at Yas Marina, Miyata had little to no running on several racetracks on the F2 calendar. As such, he faced challenges getting up to speed, as compared to his more experienced counterparts. 

“Very difficult to adapt to how to be quick.  And this season, I have some experience, because last year I had a lot of driving (on track). But F2, unfortunately, doesn't have any tests.

“So only race weekends. And for sure, some tracks have tests, for example, in Barcelona and Abu Dhabi as well. But it’s only on two tracks. So yeah, that's very tough,” Miyata mentioned. 

With a year of experience under his belt and a new team environment, Miyata can adapt quickly to the tracks on race weekends and get used to the driveability and the Pirelli tyres used on the F2 cars. 

“But this season, I always try to adapt and find out how to be quick. For sure, it’s a different team this season, but the team always help me a lot, in terms of being quick on the track. So, yeah, especially this week, in the qualifying session, finally I could (be quick), do a good job.

“The car, the tyres, everything is different compared to (back in)Japan. So this is also very difficult. But again, I learnt a lot from the team from the previous years. So, yeah, it's a good opportunity for me. And I always say ‘thank you’ to the team,” Miyata mentioned, grateful to the ART Grand Prix outfit that have backed him through 2025. 

The Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps

Miyata finished seventh in the Belgian Feature Race in 2024 | Credit: Formula 2 via X

Coincidentally, the mighty Spa-Francorchamps has been a happy hunting ground for Miyata. The Japanese driver scored a strong seventh in the Feature Race in 2024, benefitting from incidents ahead and a last-lap engine failure for pole-sitter Paul Aron to climb up a total of nine positions in the Sunday race. 

ART Grand Prix also have history on their side, with Zak O’Sullivan having taken the sprint race victory in the wet in 2024. 

“I think at first ART had a good performance in Spa. I think last year they were really good,” Miyata expressed, speaking of the team’s past success. 

“We always try to improve the car performance for qualifying as well. But especially this weekend, both cars are in a very good position. And, in qualifying, we also got the tow (slipstream). So we always try to maximise the best performance.”

The Japanese driver put it down to the high-speed nature of the circuit that aided his uptick in performance, adding on how the faster corners helped him gain more confidence and allowed him to push harder in qualifying. 

“Last week in Silverstone, I had confidence during FP (Free Practice), but unfortunately, we couldn't push in qualifying because we had some issues. Here in Spa, it's a very similar track layout to Silverstone, because this track is kind of a high-speed track. That means I could feel the confidence.

“That's why this is a good result. Also, you know, both cars have good results. That's why I still feel confident,” a delighted Miyata mentioned. 

Miyata finds himself more confident on high speed corners | Credit: Formula 2 via X

The tow from the car ahead is a crucial factor along the Kemmel straight in the first sector, while it is also leads to a major contributor to lap time in the final sector, along the run to the Bus Stop chicane. As such, Miyata, like others, opted to follow the pack through the pit lane on their preparation laps, to remain in the pack and benefit from the extra speed gain on the straights. 

“I just followed the team's decision. Because when I come to the last corner, they say box, box, and then go through the pit lane,” Miyata mentioned.  

“For sure, again, in Spa, it's very important to gain the tow. If you're not getting the tow, maybe you'll lose a little bit of top speed. So yeah, everyone wants to get the tow, and then we want to get a good lap time. So that's why maybe half the cars go through the pit lane, half the cars stay on track,” Miyata mentioned.

When asked about his forecast for the Feature Race on Sunday, given the rain threat lingering over the race, Miyata held the candle of optimism, hoping to ‘get as far as the podium’ on Sunday. 

“For sure, everyone wants to finish. No crash, no safety car. It's very good,” Miyata expressed. 

“And from my side, at first, we want to get to the podium. Of course, if we can win the race, it's the best. But anyway, still, I think the best finish in the Feature Race is maybe a P8 or P7 around here.

"So we want to get as far as the podium. And if it rains, maybe it will be a tough race. So we always need to try to do our best,” Miyata mentioned.  

The testing experience with F1 cars

Thanks to his affiliations with the Toyota marque, Miyata has also been able to test older Formula One cars. With Haas signing a technical partnership with Toyota late in 2024, the former Super Formula champion has tested the Haas VF24 in private tests in Jerez, as well as for Alpine in Zandvoort and Monza earlier this year. 

Miyata highlighted in detail just how different the F1 cars are, with the tyre blankets and the working of the tyres extremely different to that of the F2 cars. 

“Yeah, F1 is, I would say, completely different compared to F2. Because in F1, they can develop everything, aero, engine, suspension, everything. But F2 is everyone the same, suspension, monocoque, engine, everything. But for sure the setup or damper, you know, the more details are different.

“It depends on the team, I think. But anyway, F1 has more details about driving style and tyre warm-up, everything. And especially for me, you know, I never drove on European tracks and also Pirelli tyres.

“In Japan, I have only driven around Japanese tracks, and the tyre brands are only Japanese brands, completely different. The warm-up procedure and the push laps, everything is different. But in F1, it’s the same as F2 with Pirelli tyres and different compounds.

“For sure, they use the (tyre) blankets, but, you know, that means (you must know) how to be quick, how to use tyres, and also how to drive the European track. So everything help for me.  And, yeah, F1 is really nice and I could learn a lot. So, yeah, maybe this will help better my performance in F2,” Miyata concluded.