FR Americas champion Hyman seals HPD Super Formula scholarship

Hyman clinched the $600,000 prize by winning the opening race of the season finale at the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday, and is now poised to become part of Honda’s driver roster in Japan’s top single-seater series in 2023.

The Briton is expected to take part in Super Formula’s post-season rookie test at Suzuka on December 7-8, although the identity of the team he will drive for remains unclear.

Hyman’s FR Americas triumph comes after a two-year hiatus from racing for the 26-year-old. His last campaign prior to this year was in FIA F3 with Charouz in 2019, although this yielded just a single points finish and 22nd in the standings.

Previously, he won the inaugural F3 Asian title in 2018 driving for Hitech, and contested GP3 in 2017 for Campos Racing, scoring a single win en route to 13th overall.

 

Hyman was set to race in Japan in 2020 in the Super Formula Lights series following a test outing at Suzuka late in 2019 for B-Max Racing/Motopark, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant he was unable to take up his seat with the team.

He then sat out the 2021 season entirely before signing to race for the TJ Speed Motorsports squad in FR Americas this year, winning nine of the opening 15 races to establish a commanding 70-point lead in the standings heading into the COTA finale.

Hyman becomes the second driver to win the HPD scholarship after last year’s FR Americas champion Kyffin Simpson, but is set to become the first to take up the opportunity to race in Super Formula.

Cayman Islands-based Simpson turned down the chance to race in Japan this year in favour of pursuing an Indy Lights drive, but maintained his ties to HPD via a series of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship outings with Acura squad Gradient Racing.

HPD has already announced that its Super Formula scholarship will continue in 2023, with next year’s FR Americas champion eligible for the $600,000 prize.