Nyck de Vries will make a surprise Super Formula debut at the Motegi circuit later this month, the first of two outings he'll make in the Japanese single-seater series.
The sometime Williams and AlphaTauri Formula 1 driver, who finished 18th in his first season back in Formula E with Mahindra, will become only the third non-Japanese driver to race in the series this season and will be among the likes of his World Endurance Championship partner in the #7 Toyota Hypercar, Kamui Kobayashi, in the Toyota-powered ranks at Motegi.
His second outing will be in the Fuji double-header weekend in October.
De Vries will drive the #7 Impul entry, the same car that was driven by Theo Pourchaire at the opening round of the season before his move to the McLaren IndyCar team and was also taken over by Ben Barnicoat for the second round at Autopolis in May.
Reigning Super Taikyu Series champion, Hibiki Taira has raced the car at the subsequent two rounds at Sugo and Fuji.
Since Barnicoat’s one-off appearance the field has been made up exclusively of domestic drivers, marking the first time in several years there has been no international, non-Japanese driver on the Super Formula grid.
This is believed to have been part of the catalyst behind an offer to de Vries, possibly via an introduction from Kobayashi.
Team Impul, founded and managed by Japanese racing legend Kazuyoshi Hoshino, has had a poor start to 2024 with lead driver Yuji Kunimoto having taken just seven points from the first four races. He currently sits 40 points off leader, Honda-powered Team Mugen driver Tomoko Nojiri.
A more regular prospect?
De Vries has long-term deals at both Toyota in the WEC and with Mahindra in Formula E that will take him through to at least the end of 2025 and probably beyond.
The Fuji Super Formula double-header is viable because it takes place in mid-October when there is a gap in the WEC schedule and Formula E's pre-season will not have kicked off.
De Vries would however be precluded from being part of the Super Formula finale at Suzuka in November on account of the Valencia Formula E test that runs until Friday November 8.
Any notion that de Vries could pull off an ambitious triple programme, adding Super Formula to WEC and Formula E, is highly unlikely due to the likely number of clashes next season and logistical challenges of travelling to the Far East.
As its stands, next year there are three clashes between Super Formula and the WEC and two with Formula E.
Super Formula announced a provisional schedule last week that included a clash between the third round at Autopolis and the second Tokyo E-Prix, now a double header, in mid-May.
The Race understands that Formula E Operations, the promoter that runs the electric world championship, was unaware that Super Formula would announce the clashing date last week.
