After fighting Liam Lawson for a year in Super Formula, Tomoki Nojiri has got a drive in Red Bull‘s RB16B this weekend, courtesy of Honda. The RB16B is the Milton Keynes outfit’s first car that helped them challenge Mercedes for the championship in 2021.
Even though Red Bull failed to beat the Silver Arrows for the Constructors’ Championship that year, Max Verstappen won his first title by defeating Lewis Hamilton. With Nojiri now having won multiple championships in Super Formula in 2021 and 2022, Honda thought of rewarding the Japanese racer with a drive in the RB16B.
The 34-year-old received this reward after he came close to winning a third consecutive title this season. He finished third, 8.5 points behind champion Ritomo Miyata and just 0.5 points behind second-placed Liam Lawson.
As a reward for his two @SUPER_FORMULA titles @tomoki_nojiri will be driving the Red Bull Racing Honda RB16B at #HondaRacingThanksDay #Honda #HRTD2023 #HondaRacing #HRC #HondaRacingThanksDay pic.twitter.com/HSdMhhc1sB
— Honda Racing Global (@HondaRacingGLB) December 2, 2023
One of the main reasons why Nojiri lost out to Miyata and Lawson was because of an injury he sustained. Nojiri missed the race in Autopolis after he was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. At the time he missed the race, he was leading the championship by four points from Miyata.
With Liam Lawson possibly absent, Tomoki Nojiri will hope to win his third Super Formula title
Over the past few seasons, Tomoki Nojiri has established himself as one of the top drivers in the Super Formula category. Having missed out due to his injury this year, he will hope to win his third title in 2024.
Moreover, with Red Bull having recruited Lawson as their reserve driver in F1 for another season, the New Zealander may no longer be a threat to Nojiri in the upcoming Super Formula campaign.
With Daniel Ricciardo racing full-time, Lawson doesn’t have anybody yet to share the reserve duties. So, it is likely that, unless Red Bull gets another junior driver to fill in, the Kiwi may not participate full-time in next year’s Super Formula season.
As for Nojiri, it is pertinent to note that he has not just tasted success in the Super Formula series. The Japanese driver also won the Super Taikyu – ST-TCR in 2020 and came agonizingly close to winning the Super GT – GT500 in 2021.
The Super Formula champ finished second that season with 60 points, just four points behind the champion duo of Yuhi Sekiguchi and Sho Tsuboi. At the age of 34, Nojiri is well beyond getting into F1. Nevertheless, this drive in the RB16B courtesy of Honda would be memorable for him.
The post Honda Rewards Liam Lawson’s Title Rival with a Drive in Red Bull’s First Car That Got Them First Success Against Mercedes appeared first on The SportsRush.
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