Super Formula
New Super Formula car won’t be complete reset, says Hirakawa
The introduction of an updated Super Formula car for the 2023 season is not a significant enough change to “reset” the field this season, believes Team Impul's Ryo Hirakawa.
Jamie Klein
Edited: Jan 23, 2023, 11:36 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Last month, the Japanese single-seater series confirmed it will implement a major update to the existing SF19 chassis with refreshed aerodynamics aimed at improving the car’s raceability, as well as new Yokohama tyres partially made from sustainable materials.
The final version of what will be known as the SF23 has so far been tested at Suzuka and Motegi, following a series of development tests held at a variety of tracks last year.
But Hirakawa says that based on Impul’s involvement in the most recent test at Motegi in November that he is not expecting a dramatic change in how the new car will need to be set up, despite an estimated eight percent reduction in downforce.
“We believe the car is not that different compared to last year, so we can still use the base set-up from last year,” Hirakawa told Motorsport.com.
“Every team has tested with the new car, but with the test drivers, [Hiroaki] Ishiura and [Koudai] Tsukakoshi. We used the same set-up as the current car and it worked quite ok. We are still considering changing something, but the base was similar.
“Actually, the car is not so different from the previous car [SF14] when you consider the downforce and target laptime, so I think we can make use of data from five years ago.”
The 2019 season in which the SF19 was introduced was notable for featuring a very different competitive order compared to the previous year, but Hirakawa is not expecting a similar scenario this season, and believes that two-time champion Tomoki Nojiri will remain the benchmark.
“I think [the competitive order] will be relatively stable,” he said. “The clear target is just to beat Nojiri. We believe that he will still be the strongest driver. We think we have some strong points compared to Mugen, for example the speed of our tyre changes, and race pace.
“In qualifying we were pretty poor last year, but in the rookie test at Suzuka we found something on that side, so we’ll try to combine everything and we believe we can beat Nojiri.”
Hirakawa also expressed his disappointment at Super Formula’s plans to hold only a single pre-season test this year at Suzuka, slated for March 6-7, ahead of the opening round of the season at Fuji Speedway.
But, even if the field will go into the opening double-header with no experience of Fuji with the SF23, Hirakawa says the fact that this year’s car is not such a significant change means he is not overly concerned.
“I don’t think it will be a complete lottery because the car isn’t too different from last year,” he said. “But if you don’t get the set-up right, you can easily lose two races [worth of points].
“I was quite strong at Fuji last year, but Nojiri was also strong. I think it will be pretty similar even though the car is different. We just need to beat Nojiri in both races.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Oyu closing on Super Formula reprieve with Servus
Next article Five drivers who need a big year in Super Formula
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jamie Klein
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
More from
Ryo Hirakawa
Haas justifies picking Rafael Camara over Ryo Hirakawa for F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Haas justifies picking Rafael Camara over Ryo Hirakawa for F1 Brazilian GP
WEC title showdown: How Toyota’s two crews can win the crown at Monza
WEC
WEC
Monza
WEC title showdown: How Toyota’s two crews can win the crown at Monza
Latest news
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
45 min
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe