Hirakawa joins Miyata, Lawson in Super Formula exodus
Hirakawa, a mainstay of Team Impul since 2018, has made the decision to focus on his Toyota commitments in the World Endurance Championship and reserve driver duties in Formula 1 for McLaren.
Motorsport.com reported in September after Hirakawa was unveiled as a McLaren reserve at the Japanese Grand Prix that the number of clashes between the Super Formula and F1 calendars made it unlikely that the 29-year-old would attempt to combine all three programmes.
Hirakawa bows out of Super Formula with four wins to his credit and a best championship placing of second in 2020, although the two-time WEC champion has not closed the door to returning in future.
Confirming his exit, Hirakawa told Motorsport.com: “I made this decision because I had the chance to be involved in F1, so I don’t see it as a negative at all.
“Next year, while racing in WEC for a third season, I will be working as a reserve driver for McLaren, so I feel blessed and I want to thank ‘Morizo’ [Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda] for the chance to work in F1.
“It’s sad to be leaving Super Formula, but I love racing, so I am sure I will keep watching the races from afar.”
Hirakawa becomes the latest big name to leave Super Formula following Red Bull junior Liam Lawson, who will focus on his F1 reserve duties in 2024, and this year’s champion Ritomo Miyata.
It means that only Tomoki Nojiri and Sho Tsuboi will continue in the series of this year’s top five in the championship.
Miyata tipped for Carlin F2 drive
Toyota made the surprise announcement on Monday that Miyata will not return to defend his Super Formula title for TOM’S as he embarks on a dual programme in Formula 2 and the European Le Mans Series.
While the team Miyata will race for in F2 has not been confirmed, sources have indicated to Motorsport.com that his agreement is with Carlin, a team with a long history of working with Japanese drivers.
It had initially been decided that Miyata would be part of the newly-formed ASP Lexus team in the LMGT3 class of the WEC, but these plans were changed when the opportunity came up for Miyata to contest F2 in the wake of his Super Formula title.
This is said to follow one of the drivers that Carlin signed for F2 initially dropping out because of a missed payment deadline.
Carlin has run Red Bull juniors Zane Maloney (pictured) and Enzo Fittipaldi in F2 this year
Carlin has run Red Bull juniors Zane Maloney (pictured) and Enzo Fittipaldi in F2 this year
Toyota’s decision to accept a chance to place Miyata in F2 meant it was impossible for him to participate in the WEC, owing to the high number of calendar clashes between the series.
By contrast, Miyata’s programme in ELMS with LMP2 squad Cool Racing, features just a single date conflict with the Silverstone F2 round, which he is expected to contest at the expense of the Imola round of the ELMS.
Cool Racing has announced that Peugeot junior Malthe Jakobsen and Spanish teenager Lorenzo Fluxa will partner Miyata in the ELMS.
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