Two rounds of Super Formula’s feeder series are completed halfway through 2024, with three different drivers managing to reach the top step of the podium after six races. Feeder Series analyses who are the ones to watch in 2024 and beyond.

By Finjo Muschlien

In the direct feeder series to Super Formula, three drivers have stood out from their rivals thus far. The championship sees an incredibly balanced grid this year, having a total of three Japanese F4 champions and one former FIA Formula 3 driver on the grid. 

Seita Nonaka (P1 after two rounds)

One of the F4 champions is current championship leader Seita Nonaka, who returned for a fourth full season of SF Lights in 2024. The 23-year-old won three out of six races so far, something he hasn’t managed to do since the opening race of the 2022 season, but what are the factors that helped him reaching the top?

Consistent pace and defensive driving style

Nonaka’s season and results so far are consistent. At round one he won the first race, after overtaking teammate Rikuto Kobayashi for the lead on Lap 3 of 21, before his consistent pace helped him to increase the gap to over seven seconds when he crossed the finish line. 

After finishing the second race in third, Nonaka went back to winning form at the third race at Autopolis, this time from pole position. Nonaka eventually extended his lead to over ten seconds at the finish line after having to prove his defending abilities. Former FIA F3 driver Kaylen Frederick attacked him into multiple corners on the opening two laps, however, the B-Max Racing driver had no chance of passing Nonaka.

Generally, in all races Nonaka mostly managed to maintain or increase his gaps to the following cars when leading and also never didn’t win when he led the race at any point.

The best starter and true warrior

Nonaka has proven on multiple occasions that he is very good when it comes to getting off the line. He first proved it in the second race at Autopolis, where an incredible start saw him moving all the way up from sixth to second place bythe first corner. 

At the second round at Sugo, Nonaka had great starts again and moved up from eighth to sixth position just before the third sector in the first race. Nonaka showcased his overtaking skills in that race as well. He overtook teammate Yuga Furutani after a short but intense battle at the opening few turns of Lap 2 of 26 and eventually crossed the line in fourth after Frederick retired in Lap 21 of 26.

Nonaka started the third race from fourth position and inherited the lead at turn one after an incredible start and overtake around the outside of the three drivers that started ahead of him. He then stayed at the front until Lap 7, where a safety car was brought out for low visibility and eventually ended the race. 

What Nonaka needs to improve

Nonaka’s biggest weakness is by no doubt his qualifying performance. Nonaka had four qualifying sessions so far this year and in the first qualifying at Autopolis he was just one tenth off the pole time. However, in the second qualifying just after the first session, he was 0.57 seconds off the pace and three tenths slower compared to his first run, while the lap time of the polesitter improved by two tenths. 

At the second round at Sugo, Nonaka was almost half a second behind the polesitter in both sessions, which meant that he qualified just eighth for the first race.

Another factor are his performances in wet conditions. When the second race at Sugo got underway on Lap 5 of 18, it became clear that Nonaka couldn’t go his rivals’ pace. He remained in eighth position for the whole race and the gap to Furutani ahead of him was constantly at over three seconds. Nonaka crossed the line in seventh following a coming together between Frederick and Koide on the final lap.

His pace in Sugo’s third race and second wet weather-affected race was neither bad nor outstanding, but enough to win the race following his amazing start. 

Syun Koide (P2 after two rounds)

2022 Japanese F4 champion Syun Koide currently finds himself in second in the overall championship with 31 points. The B-Max Racing driver has won two races so far and is just seven points behind championship leader Nonaka. 

Strong qualifying form

Koide has proven his qualifying strengths at both rounds of the season so far. The first qualifying of the season at Autopolis saw close gaps and, despite being just two tenths away from pole position, Koide started the first race from fifth. Koide’s qualifying form for the second qualifying remained as good as it was in the first one, however this time he topped the session and started the second race from pole.

Koide also secured pole for the first race of the second round at Sugo and was just two tenths behind the pole time in the second qualifying session that day.

Rapid race pace and consistency

Consistency is key and Koide has proven in the past that he is a very consistent racer. For example, in 2022 he won the Japanese F4 championship after finishing all but two races in the top two positions.

This trait quickly transitioned into SF Lights and becomes visible more and more this year. After starting fifth, Koide initially gained a position at the start of the first race at Autopolis but made a mistake in turn three and went off into the gravel trap, losing the position again. He stayed behind teammate Frederick for the remainder of the race, constantly keeping the gap at less than one second. 

He continued his consistent speed in the second race at Autopolis. A decent start from pole position saw him keeping and extending his lead, eventually winning the race, despite Nakamura behind challenging him for the lead in the closing stages, but never becoming a serious threat. 

After a difficult third race at Autopolis, Koide turned tables for the second round at Sugo, securing pole for the first race of the weekend and winning the race by over four seconds. However, he even had a gap of well over eight seconds with eight laps to go. His race pace was incredible, evident in his fastest lap being over four tenths quicker than that of sixth-placed Souta Arao, who set the second-fastest lap. 

Koide finished second in the final race at Sugo after constantly staying close to leader Nonaka and keeping the gap at less than one second most of the race. Koide started the race from pole but lost the lead to the fast-starting Nonaka, as the duo pulled away from the competition.

Wet weather performances

At the two rain-affected races at Sugo, Koide also demonstrated consistent and clean performances. Koide started the second race at Sugo from fourth position and overtook a struggling Arao with two minutes to go in the wet conditions. 

His speed in wet conditions was clearly better than the speed of Frederick ahead and Arao behind him and he soonclosed up to his teammate. Koide tried to overtake Frederick for second on the final lap, however the duo collided, and Koide went into the gravel trap, relegating him all the way down to eighth position. 

What does Koide have to work on?

Koide’s general race pace looks very strong, and he set the fastest laps of all races that he won; however, this might also be something he should not get too comfortable about. Being fast is good and is obviously what it takes to win races, but he needs to be careful to not reach a level where he ruins his tyres or ends up doing a mistake.

Jin Nakamura (P3 after two rounds)

2023 Japanese F4 runner-up Jin Nakamura is currently the highest placed debutant and the only one to have won a race so far, having already impressed at the season opener at Autopolis.

Qualifying form

Nakamura qualified just three tenths behind the polesitters in both qualifying sessions at Autopolis, placing him seventh and third for the first two races. 

At Sugo, Nakamura again proved his speed in qualifying. This time he was just 0.18 and 0.012 seconds behind pole, securing second and fourth positions for the first two races.

Solid racecraft in all conditions

His first race at Autopolis ended after just three turns, as Nakamura crashed into a tyre barrier due to a self conflicted error. However, the second race would see him having more fortune. 

Nakamura ran in third position for the opening six laps, before he completed a clean overtake on Nonaka in turn one of Lap 7. After a safety car period, he then went on to chase Koide for the win, even setting the second-fastest lap of the race, eventually finishing just five tenths behind the race winner.

On Sunday at Sugo, Nakamura finally showcased perhaps his best trait. In very wet conditions, Nakamura started the race from second position, but when the race got under green flag conditions, he overtook Frederick for the lead after just three corners, by using alternate lines through the opening sector. Nakamura then extended his lead to over 10 seconds before the end of the race, going on to win his first race of the season. 

Later that day, the second rain-affected race of the season followed. A slow getaway saw him dropping from second to fifth at the start, but he found himself in third again at the third corner, again making use of alternate racing lines.

What does Nakamura have to work on?

It doesn’t make the impression at first sight that Nakamura is still a rookie. Except for the self conflicted error on the opening lap of the first race at Autopolis, Nakamura hasn’t done any big mistakes during the races. If he can slightly improve his qualifying and race pace, it will only be a matter of time until he becomes the one to beat. 

Header photo credit: Super Formula Lights