Super Formula Preview: Rounds 10, 11 and 12

Written by Tarun Suresh, Edited by Meghana Sree

Super Formula marks itself on the calendar for one last time in 2025 with the season finale at Suzuka this weekend.

Credit: Super Formula

The Circuit

The Honda-owned circuit spanning 5.807 km (3.608 mi) has provided plenty of action each time Super Formula raced here. Some key overtaking spots are Turns 1 and 2, Turn 11 and the Casio Triangle chicane. 

We’ve also seen some opportunistic drivers make some moves on the long, high-speed corners, Turns 3 through 7 as well as the famous 130R and the Spoon Curve.

Title Contenders

The story of the weekend is, of course, the three-way fight for both championships.

Sho Tsuboi, the reigning champion, currently leads the battle for the Drivers’ Championship with 104.5 points. Having won the Super GT title earlier this month, he will be aiming to win the two most prestigious titles in Japanese motorsport two years in a row.

Tied for second with 90 points each are Kakunoshin Ohta and Ayumu Iwasa. Ohta has won four of the past six races at the circuit and will be looking to add to that tally this weekend. 

Iwasa has been stunningly consistent this season, finishing on the podium every time he crossed the finish line, barring one race.

On the Teams’ Championship side of things, Team Dandelion are leading by just 15.5 points over Team TOM’S, and Team Mugen are trailing closely, 21.5 points behind the leaders.

Credit: Super Formula

The newly added Round 10

With the addition of round 10 to the weekend, meaning three races, all providing full points, the title fight could very likely swing in favour of those in the cars suitable for Suzuka. Out of the past ten races here, nine of them have been won by a Team Dandelion or a Team Mugen driver.

If it weren’t for the extra race, Tsuboi would’ve been a comfortable favourite for the title with his 14.5 point buffer to second, but right now, the pendulum could very well not swing in his favour. 

Not to mention that Ohta and Iwasa will be starting third and fourth, while Tsuboi will be starting only seventh for this round, since the grid for Round 10 is decided by the qualifying session for the cancelled Fuji round. 

This will certainly put the championship leader on the back foot despite what, on paper, looks like a fairly decent lead.

Weather

One more thing to note is the colder weather this weekend. The temperature this weekend is not expected to cross 20 degrees centigrade, similar to the season opener here. 

These are conditions the Dandelions have excelled in earlier this season, with their cars being able to generate heat into their tyres much quicker than their competitors. 

Schedule 

Since this is a unique triple header, the schedule will be a little different and more packed. Qualifying for Rounds 11 and 12 will be hosted on Saturday morning at 8:00 and 10:00, respectively, and Round 11 will commence later that day at 14:30.

Round 10 will take place on Sunday morning at 9:50 (yes, Round 10 takes place after Round 11), and the final round of the season will start at 14:30.