On the grid before Super Formula race at Fuji Speedway

Making Super Formula A Truly Pan Asian Series

The 2025 Super Formula season has just wrapped up with Ayumu Iwasa crowned champion at Suzuka, edging out a fierce title battle with Sho Tsuboi, Kakunoshin Ohta, and Tadasuke Makino that went right to the final round.

Across the year the four of them traded wins, off weekends, and momentum, and Suzuka became the circuit where Iwasa finally converted raw speed and consistency into a full season result.

Within Japan, that story already lands.

The grandstands at Suzuka were full of fans who know the drivers, follow the teams, and understand that Super Formula is brutally quick.

From the outside though, the series still feels like something you only discover after you are already deep into the motorsport rabbit hole.

That was never quite the intention.

When Formula Nippon was rebranded as Super Formula ahead of the 2013 season, the goal was not just a new logo.

The idea was to position it as the top level of formula racing in Asia, using global technical standards and sitting close enough to Formula 1 (F1) that the paddock would pay attention to what happened here.

Since then, the grid has quietly done exactly what you would expect from a serious top level series.

Drivers like Pierre Gasly, Stoffel Vandoorne, Liam Lawson, and Nyck de Vries all spent important seasons in Super Formula before or around their time in F1, using these cars and these circuits to stay sharp and prove their value in front of manufacturers and team bosses.

More than ten years after the rebrand, the cars, the teams, and the level of driving have reached the standard that name implied.

The calendar has stayed mostly domestic.

With F1’s global profile exploding and every regional series fighting for relevance, this feels like the right moment to ask a simple question.

If Super Formula really wants to live up to its own name, how could it evolve into a genuinely pan Asian series that is built around the circuits and markets that matter for both F1 bound drivers and brands that want long term exposure in Asia?

This is not a prediction or an insider plan.

It is a what if exercise, using 2026 as a template.

The idea is to imagine what a Super Formula calendar could look like if it leaned into Shanghai, Suzuka, Singapore and other Asian circuits, and embraced the reality that more and more foreign drivers are choosing this series as their proving ground.

Why A Pan Asian Super Formula Makes Sense

F1 relevant seat time in Asia

The obvious hook is circuit relevance.

Imagine a Super Formula calendar that includes:

Shanghai International Circuit
Suzuka Circuit
Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore
Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia
An Indonesian venue such as Sentul or Mandalika

For drivers with serious F1 ambitions, this is incredibly valuable.

Super Formula already offers something that sits in the same performance conversation as Formula 2 and IndyCar: very powerful formula cars with serious downforce and high cornering speeds.

At places like Suzuka, the lap times put Super Formula right up near the top of global single seater categories.

On top of that, the series already has:

High power, high downforce machinery that punishes imprecision
Short, intense races that reward racecraft and tyre management
Teams with strong engineering depth and manufacturer backing

Add F1 grade Asian circuits into the mix and you create a way for an aspiring F1 driver to get real racing mileage in this part of the world, without simply repeating the F2 calendar.

Instead of treating Super Formula as a Japanese detour, it becomes the logical Asian complement to the European junior ladder.

A Shanghai opener and Singapore late season race would also let young drivers experience the reality of F1 style race weeks in very different environments: a permanent circuit in early spring, and a demanding street race in the heat and humidity later in the year.

A development platform for Asian and Pacific drivers

Super Formula already produces strong Japanese drivers.

A pan Asian calendar would turn it into a true development platform for drivers from across the region.

It can become:

A place where Japanese drivers benchmark themselves against global talent on familiar tracks
A realistic step for Chinese and Southeast Asian drivers who want top level experience closer to home
A destination for Australian and New Zealand drivers who want a different kind of high level single seater experience compared with staying solely in Europe

In other words, Super Formula would shift from being a last stop for drivers who could not quite break Europe, to being a deliberate choice for drivers and backers who want to win in Asia, on serious machinery, with international visibility.

Pre season testing could also lean into this.

A group test at Shanghai, for example, would give drivers early mileage on an F1 circuit and set the tone that Super Formula is thinking beyond Japan from the moment the year starts.

A long term marketing platform for Asia focused brands

A pan Asian calendar is also a marketing product.

If the series visits Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia within a single year, it no longer exists primarily for Japanese companies and the Japanese market.

It becomes a platform for brands that want to live in people’s daily lives, not just on a TV graphic or a result sheet.

That opens the door for:

Consumer tech and handset makers
Telecom and connectivity players
Digital payments, fintech, and regional banks
Airlines, tourism boards, and travel brands
Energy companies and mobility infrastructure
Lifestyle, fashion, gaming, and food and beverage brands that already advertise across Asia

The value is not only financial exposure.

It is the ability to weave Super Formula into a larger brand story, similar to what many partners now do in F1.

Instead of a sponsor simply slapping a logo on a car, the series becomes a live environment where brands can talk about speed, innovation, youth culture, sustainability, digital life or travel in a way that feels real.

If Super Formula designs its calendar and event format with that in mind, it can offer brands more than trackside billboards. It can offer a season long narrative they can plug into.

Who Could Back A Pan Asian Super Formula?

This is the fun part: imagining who might actually sit on the cars and paddock boards if Super Formula really committed to a pan Asian identity and a more experiential approach.

You could imagine a sponsor ecosystem that looks something like this.

Energy and mobility as a future story, not just fuel

A major energy player that already invests in motorsport, using Super Formula as a laboratory to talk about lower carbon fuels, EV charging or hydrogen projects in Asia
National oil companies in the region such as Pertamina or Petronas shifting their motorsport narrative from pure fuel branding to innovation, engineering education, and community projects around each race

Here, Super Formula becomes the stage where these companies show what their future looks like, not only where their logo appears.

Fintech, payments, and digital finance that fans actually use

Regional digital wallets and payment apps that integrate race week ticketing, transport and merchandise, turning each round into a real world test for their ecosystem
Investment apps or online brokers that build content around performance, risk and strategy using races as analogies, instead of just running generic sports ads

The partnership is strongest when fans actually tap, scan or invest through the sponsor’s product to experience the race weekend.

Lifestyle and consumer goods that shape the weekend experience

Beverage brands that own fan zones, music stages and after race events, so that their product is tied to the feeling of being at the circuit
Snack and convenience brands that use limited edition packaging, collectibles and on site sampling that follow the series from Shanghai to Singapore and Jakarta
Coffee and quick service chains that turn race weekends into city wide campaigns, with themed menus and watch parties far from the actual track

In this model, Super Formula becomes part of how people spend their day, not just something they watch for ninety minutes.

Tech, gaming, and platforms that blur real and virtual

Console, PC and mobile game companies that tie in official Super Formula cars, tracks and drivers, then run sim racing events alongside real rounds
Streaming and social platforms that treat Super Formula as a content playground, with vertical video, behind the scenes access, team radio, and creator collaborations tailored to each market

Here the value is in storytelling and interaction.

A fan in Kuala Lumpur or Surabaya might first meet Super Formula through a game or creator, then later see the real cars.

Travel, airlines, and logistics as part of the narrative

Airlines and tourism boards that build travel products around race weekends, promoting a Super Formula themed trip to Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Indonesia
A global or regional logistics company such as Ocean Network Express or a major freight integrator that quite literally moves the series, and uses that movement as content, from ship tracking to behind the scenes looks at how a championship travels across Asia

This is where experiential marketing becomes very visible. The movement of people and equipment is no longer a hidden cost.

It becomes part of the story fans follow between rounds.

Put together, that kind of sponsor mix would make the grid look very different from a traditional domestic series that relies primarily on automotive and industrial partners.

More importantly, it would make Super Formula part of a much bigger conversation about how Asia moves, spends, plays and lives, rather than something that only exists on race weekends.

2026 As A Thought Experiment

To keep this grounded, let us start with something concrete: the original 2026 Super Formula calendar.

Original 2026 Calendar (Japan only)

Motegi: 4/3 to 4/5
Autopolis: 4/25 to 4/26
Suzuka: 5/22 to 5/24
Fuji: 7/17 to 7/19
Sugo: 8/8 to 8/9
Fuji: 10/9 to 10/11
Suzuka: 11/20 to 11/22

Seven rounds, all in Japan. Clean logistics and well known circuits, but limited reach.

Below are three hypothetical 2026 options that gradually push Super Formula toward a pan Asian identity, using realistic sea freight windows. None of these are perfect. That is the point. They are starting points for discussion.

Option 1: Shanghai Opener, Singapore Finale

This is the simplest evolution.

You keep the Japanese backbone, add Shanghai at the front, and replace the second Fuji with Singapore.

Rough freight assumptions:

Around two weeks for sea shipping between Japan and China or within Japan
Around one month for sea shipping from Japan to Southeast Asia and back

Proposed 2026 calendar

Shanghai F1: 3/13 to 3/16
Motegi: 4/3 to 4/5
Autopolis: 4/25 to 4/26
Suzuka: 5/22 to 5/24
Fuji: 7/17 to 7/19
Sugo: 8/8 to 8/9
Singapore F1: 10/9 to 10/11
Suzuka: 11/20 to 11/22

You lose the second Fuji event, but gain:

A season opener on a current F1 circuit in China
A late season feature round in Singapore, with all the visibility that comes with a night race around Marina Bay

For teams, this is a manageable step.

There is only one true flyaway outside Japan, with enough freight time if planned properly.

For drivers and sponsors, it already looks like a different kind of championship.

Shanghai as the first round also sends a clear signal about intent without overcomplicating the rest of the year.

Option 2: Building A Southeast Asia Block With Sepang

Option 2 builds directly on Option 1 and adds a mid September round at Sepang.

That creates a proper Southeast Asia segment rather than a single trip to Singapore.

Proposed 2026 calendar

Shanghai F1: 3/13 to 3/16
Motegi: 4/3 to 4/5
Autopolis: 4/25 to 4/26
Suzuka: 5/22 to 5/24
Fuji: 7/17 to 7/19
Sugo: 8/8 to 8/9
Sepang: mid September
Singapore F1: 10/9 to 10/11
Suzuka: 11/20 to 11/22

Why this is attractive:

Sepang and Singapore complement each other nicely: a fast, flowing permanent circuit followed by a street circuit
You can pitch a mini Southeast Asia tour to partners and fans
Malaysia opens up another major market with a strong motorsport history and automotive presence

Logistically, you schedule Sepang early enough that freight can move from Japan to Malaysia, then on to Singapore, then back to Japan without insane turnaround times.

Option 3: Full Pan Asian Season With Indonesian Finale

Option 3 is the big swing. You keep the Japanese core, add Shanghai at the front, run Sepang and Singapore in the later stages, and then finish in Indonesia.

Proposed 2026 calendar

Shanghai F1: 3/13 to 3/16
Motegi: 4/3 to 4/5
Autopolis: 4/25 to 4/26
Suzuka: 5/22 to 5/24
Fuji: 7/17 to 7/19
Sugo: 8/8 to 8/9
Sepang: mid September
Singapore F1: 10/9 to 10/11
Season finale in Sentul or Mandalika: late October to November

Now you are genuinely pan Asian:

China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia in one season
A mix of established F1 venues and important regional circuits
Multiple chances for local drivers and partners to connect with a top level series

Indonesia, with its huge and young population and strong passion for two wheel racing, could be a powerful market if Super Formula is willing to invest.

A season finale there would look and feel very different from the traditional Suzuka conclusion, but that is the point.

It signals that the series truly belongs to Asia, not just to Japan.

A Note On Suzuka And The Japanese Grand Prix

Whenever people talk about Super Formula and F1, the idea of running as a support race for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka comes up quickly.

On paper, it is a perfect crossover: the same circuit, the same week, the same international audience.

In practice, Suzuka is already a very tight paddock, and finding the space, time, and operational capacity to add another full series is difficult.

It is something that has been discussed before and never quite materialized.

The important thing is that Super Formula does not actually need to race on the Grand Prix weekend to get value from Suzuka.

The circuit is already part of the calendar.

What matters more is connecting Suzuka to a wider Asian story: drivers racing there as part of a season that also includes Shanghai, Singapore, and Southeast Asia, rather than treating it as a one off shop window.

Beyond The Calendar: Making It A Growth Story

All of this only matters if the calendar serves a bigger purpose.

For Super Formula to grow on the back of a pan Asian concept, it needs to line up a few pillars around it.

Talent and youth focus

Link each flyaway round with academy activities, karting showcases, and sim racing events
Tell the stories of both Japanese and non Japanese drivers who are using Super Formula as their launchpad
Make it clear how a young driver from Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Sydney or Auckland can reasonably aim for a Super Formula seat

Technical and competitive diversity

In the long run, a pan Asian series should also make room for:

Non Japanese teams who want to base themselves in China, Southeast Asia, or even Europe but commit to racing in Asia
Additional engine suppliers to sit alongside Honda and Toyota, whether that means regional brands, customer engines, or a future hybrid solution

That variety will matter if Super Formula wants to feel like a truly continental championship, not just a Japanese series that travels.

Regional content strategy

Produce multilingual content that travels across platforms and borders
Use Shanghai, Sepang, Singapore, and Indonesia to introduce new fans to Japanese teams and drivers, and introduce Japanese fans to rising talents from other Asian countries
Give international drivers and teams tools to tell their own stories in English and local languages

Sponsor ecosystem and logistics partners

Build a sponsor mix that reflects Asia today: energy and mobility, yes, but also digital, lifestyle, food and beverage, finance and gaming
Bring in a headline logistics partner such as ONE or another global freight company that can turn the movement of cars and equipment into a visible part of the story rather than a hidden cost
Encourage title and regional partners to commit for multiple years so that marketing and grassroots projects can compound rather than reset every season

The 2026 ideas in this post are just that: ideas.

Freight costs, local politics, and circuit availability can kill a beautiful calendar very quickly.

But if Super Formula wants to truly live up to its name, this kind of pan Asian thinking feels like the next logical step.

The series is already doing well within Japan.

The interesting question now is whether it can become the reference single seater championship for Asia at exactly the time when more drivers, sponsors, and fans are looking in this direction.

What If Super Formula Became A Pan Asian Series In 2026

Making Super Formula A Truly Pan Asian Series