Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Hiyu Yamakoshi

  • F3 – RND 4 – Day 1

    Practice-
    Noah Stromsted got his weekend off to the perfect start, ending Practice fastest for TRIDENT with a 1:22.410. He led Taito Kato, who delivered a late-session improvement to split the Italian team’s 1-2, with Freddie Slater rounding out the top three positions.

    With installation laps complete, Yevan David set the early pace on a 1:24.837.

    Stromsted was the next to go quickest, a 1:23.387 putting him comfortably fastest. Tuukka Taponen then deposed the Dane at the top before Hiyu Yamkoshi went even quicker with a 1:22.814.

    Compatriot Jin Nakamura then put Hitech on top of the pile as he went onto a 1:26.693 to lead the pack with just over 20 minutes to go.

    The times continued to tumble as Ernesto Rivera headed a Campos Racing 1-2 from teammate Theophile Nael as the Red Bull Junior Team driver set a 1:22.594.

    Stromsted then restored TRIDENT to the top as he set a 1:22.410 before the track quietened ahead of the final 10 minutes.
    Teammate Slater then moved up the order to make it a 1-2 for the Italian team, 0.176s down on the Dane.

    The track was then busy once again in the final minutes of the session, with plenty trying to find one final improvement ahead of Qualifying.

    Kato was one of those who did improve late on, going up to P2 for ART at the chequered flag ahead of Slater.

    Qualifying-

    Hiyu Yamakoshi claimed the Aramco Pole Position Award in Spielberg, setting a 1:21.730 for Van Amersfoort Racing to take top spot in Qualifying.

    The Japanese driver ran in the gap between the first and second runs of the majority, finding improvements where others couldn’t. He finished ahead of Ugo Ugochukwu in P2 and Tuukka Taponen in third.

    Noah Stromsted picked up from where he left off in Practice to go fastest early on, but his first time was beaten by several others.

    Taito Kato, Alessandro Giusti and then Taponen all went quicker, with the Finn leading the pack on a 1:21.968 early on.

    Stromsted recaptured top spot on his next attempt until Taponen once again went quicker, this time on a 1:21.775 to lead by 0.084s from the Dane.

    Giusti, Kato and Kanato Le rounded out the top five as the field headed back into the pitlane for a second set of the Soft Pirelli tyres.

    VAR opted to go early with all three of their drivers on the second run, and Yamakoshi improved to go provisionally fastest on a 1:21.730, teammate Bruno del Pino aborted his lap to stay in P10, and Enzo Deligny climbed up to P12 with 10 minutes remaining.

    Ahead of the final attempts, everyone was fighting to find an ideal track position in order to gain a sliptstream down the long DRS zones at Turns 3 and 4.

    ART Grand Prix found themselves clean air but couldn’t trouble the time from Yamakoshi.

    Ugochukwu found an improvement to go to P2, 0.015s down on the best time and Kato suffered a spin at the final corner as he looked to improve on his final effort.

    Nobody could find an improvement overall, and it left Yamakoshi on pole for the first time in his F3 career.

  • Van Amersfoort confirm Yamakoshi for 2026

    Hiyu Yamakoshi will be stepping up to FIA Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2026.

    The team has confirmed the Japanese driver as their second signing for next season following the confirmation of Jesse Carrasquedo.

    Yamakoshi made his single-seater debut in 2023, going on to race in the Italian F4 and Euro 4 Championship in 2024, claiming four wins across both series, finishing third and fourth overall respectively.

    He then stepped up to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in 2025, finishing twice on the podium and currently sits eighth in the standings.

    Speaking about his promotion for 2026, Yamakoshi said he was please to be continuing with Van Amersfoort Racing into F3.

    First of all, I would like to say thank you to everyone who gave me this opportunity. This will be my third year working with VAR which I think is going to be really helpful for my first FIA F3 season. I can’t wait for my F3 tests and I’m already very excited to get my F3 race weekend. See you at our first official test at Jerez.
    Yamakoshi on the news.

    We’re pleased to continue our journey with Hiyu as he steps up to FIA Formula 3. He’s been great to work with so far, a hard worker with a professional approach, and we’re confident he will adjust well to this next step on the international stage. The upcoming tests will be his first chance to get behind the wheel of the F3 machinery and lay the groundwork for a strong season ahead. We’re looking forward to supporting his development and are confident we can achieve great results together.
    Brad Joyce, VAR Team Principal.