Former Formula 1 driver and 2021 Formula E champion Nyck de Vries will compete in two rounds of this yr’s Super Formula season for Team Impul.
De Vries, 29, will make his debut within the Japanese single-seater series at Motegi on 23-25 August before competing in a double event at Fuji on 11-13 October.
He will leave the cockpit of the No. 19 SF23 entered by Impul for the season finale at Suzuka on November 8-10, likely at the side of the official Formula E test that may happen immediately prior to it on November 4-7 in Valencia.
Last yr’s Super Formula Lights runner-up Hibiki Taira, who has already competed in two rounds for Impul this yr, will return to the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota-powered automotive on the Japanese Grand Prix in mid-November.
Theo Pourchaire, ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL
Photo: Masahide Kamio
The news of de Vries joining Impul means Super Formula will once more have international representation on the grid. The previous two rounds in Sugo and Fuji (SF visits Fuji twice this yr) were the primary races in Japan’s top formula since 1978 to feature no gaijin riders.
Defending Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire was initially signed up because the only foreign driver within the Impul grid for 2024, but ultimately left the series after only one round to pursue his IndyCar ambitions in North America.
Pourchaire was replaced at Autopolis by Lexus works driver Ben Barnicoat on a one-off basis, ensuring the presence of international talent before Taira's appointment at Sugo meant that the whole San Francisco field was made up of local Japanese racing drivers.
Watch: Round 4: Fuji Highlights
The signing of De Vries is subsequently an enormous boost for the series, especially given his pedigree and former successes. The Dutch driver has won titles in each F2 and FE, and AlphaTauri signed him to race in F1 last yr, although he was dropped by the team mid-season on account of a scarcity of results.
He currently races in the highest Hypercar class of the Endurance World Championship for Toyota, and recently accomplished a return season to Formula 1 with Mahindra Racing.
De Vries took his first overall WEC victory at Imola within the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, who also races in Super Formula, while his best result was fourth place within the uncompetitive Mahindra M9 Electro in London.
