Neither Ritomo Miyata nor Luke Browning got to spray champagne on the Formula 2 feature race podium in Belgium. At the time, the pair were fourth and fifth respectively – until Alex Dunne’s penalty and Arvid Lindblad’s disqualification promoted them to second and third. Feeder Series spoke to the pair about what’s giving them confidence for the final five rounds of the season. 

By Calla Kra-Caskey

Super Formula champion Miyata has had a difficult two years since his transition to European single-seaters. Prior to 2024, the ART driver had spent his entire racing career in East Asia, competing in Japanese F4, Japanese Formula 3, Super Formula Lights, and Super Formula. He won each of those championships bar Japanese F3, in which he was twice a runner-up. 

The results haven’t been as pretty in F2. Last year, he finished 19th in the championship with Rodin and took a best result of fifth. His 2025 season got off to a similarly difficult start, and prior to Spa, he had only scored points on three occasions and had a best result of sixth. 

Last weekend, he had the best weekend of his F2 career, finishing eighth in the sprint race and second in the feature race after qualifying second. 

“Spa was a really amazing weekend,” he told Feeder Series at a pre-weekend media roundtable. “With the results, a podium, both races [were good].” 

Miyata said he feels confident going forward, but he isn’t basing that just on his Belgium results. 

“I have confidence since Silverstone and Red Bull Ring,” he said, “but unfortunately those races we had an issue, so just unlucky.” 

In Austria, Miyata qualified 13th and climbed five places to finish eighth in the sprint race. In the feature race, he retired in the pits with a seeming mechanical issue on the first lap. He did not set a qualifying lap in Silverstone because of further mechanical issues and started 21st in both races, failing to score points in each. 

The Japanese driver had no such issues in Spa in either the dry qualifying session or the rain-hit feature race. 

“That’s why in Spa we had a really good weekend. So I hope to keep like this in the future, even this weekend,” he added. 

There is about a 50% chance of precipitation at the Hungaroring on Sunday, and Browning in particular is hoping it materialises. The Briton comes to Budapest off of two excellent wet-weather comebacks, going from 12th to third in the rain at both Silverstone and Spa. His Hitech teammate Dino Beganovic has also excelled in those conditions, finishing fourth from eighth in Silverstone and seventh from 13th in Spa. 

The drivers’ success is likely ‘a combination’ of their individual and team strengths, Browning said.

“Dino’s always been a good wet driver. Looking back to Barcelona in F3 testing, it was always me and him that were right at the top,” he said. “That direction, probably, in what we want out of the wet car but also the driving is probably a good combination. 

“It’s good to see the feature race results. Obviously that’s two back-to-back podiums in the wet for us qualifying outside the top 10.” 

Unlike Miyata, for whom further success is unlikely to put him in championship contention, Browning is still in the fight for the F2 title. He’s currently fifth in the standings and just 12 points off championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli. If his past two weekends are any indication, more rainy weather could propel him to the top. 

“The wet has always been a very strong condition for me. It’s what saved my British F4 championship,” he said. “[In] GB3, it was probably my performances that stood out most in the wet. So going forward, it would be nice to make the most of that and to hopefully have another wet race this weekend. 

“But you never know. Maybe we don’t need it.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency