O'Sullivan sees Japan as an choice to proceed his racing profession after leaving F2

Williams Formula 1 junior Zak O'Sullivan says he’s considering Super Formula instead for 2025 after losing his Formula 2 seat midway through this 12 months.

O'Sullivan reported unexpectedly late to this week's post-season test at Suzuka, joining Kondo Racing for the ultimate day reserved for debutants on Friday.

- Advertisement -

This got here after he parted ways with the ART Grand Prix F2 team following September's round at Monza, together with his place in Baku being taken by fellow Williams junior Luke Browning.

The 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award winner finished sixteenth in the ultimate standings, with victories within the Monaco feature race and the Spa sprint.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, O'Sullivan said that the explanation for his separation from ART were financial problems and he didn’t rule out the potential for taking a full-time seat in Super Formula.

Kondo's Toyota-powered team has a possible unoccupied alongside Kenta Yamashita for 2025, with Kazuto Kotaka virtually certain to depart the team.

“It's no secret that F2 is not the cheapest championship,” O'Sullivan said. “We are all attempting to finance as best we will. Williams helped me too, but sometimes it's not enough.

Zak O'Sullivan, Grand Prix ART

Photo: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“Performances heading in the right direction didn't assist in this case either. It's certainly one of those things: I'm not the primary driver to quit F2 and I won't be the last.

Regarding the prospect of moving full-time to Japan, he added: “It's a step away from F2, but it surely's a really competitive championship that's attractive to drivers coming from Europe.

“I really enjoyed today, but there are a few other things on the table, so let's see.”

In his first Super Formula appearance, O'Sullivan set the eighth-fastest time of the 12 drivers in Friday's motion, 1.619 seconds behind cruiser Igor Fraga, who drove all three days of testing for Nakajima Racing.

The 19-year-old said he was pleased with the progress he had made throughout the day and believed he would have finished higher within the leaderboard had the afternoon session not been interrupted by Yuui Tsutsumi's accident as a lot of the drivers were on their final stints.

“It was quite a short day in terms of running around the track,” O'Sullivan said. “The morning session was mainly about getting used to the automobile and testing its capabilities since it is a totally different automobile to the F2 and harder to seek out the boundaries, much faster within the corners.

“At the tip of the afternoon we had two sets of tires. The final run looked good until the red flag. But a very powerful thing was to learn as much as possible and find the boundaries of the automobile.

Zak O'Sullivan, Grand Prix ART

Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“I believe the last lap was on the sector. But I used to be more concerned in regards to the feel of the automobile and got there at the tip of the day.

As for his future at Williams, O'Sullivan revealed his contract with the Grove team expires this month and expressed uncertainty about its extension.

“Like any contract, the extension date is at the end of the year, so I'll find out soon,” he said.

“I am happy with the time I spent there. I joined the band when I was 16, so I have a close relationship with them. It would be a shame to leave, but I had a nice time.”