# 2018 Super Formula Championship

The 2018 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the forty-sixth season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing, and the sixth under the moniker of Super Formula. The season began on 22 April and is scheduled to end on 28 October at the same place after seven rounds.
2018 was the final season that the Dallara SF14 chassis package—which débuted in the 2014 Super Formula Championship—was used in competition; as a brand new chassis package will be introduced for the 2019 season but the engine configuration will remain the same.

## Teams and drivers

Every Honda-powered car used a Honda HR-414E engine and every Toyota-powered car used a Toyota RI4A engine.
| Team | Engine | No. | Driver | Rounds |
| JMS P.mu/cerumo・INGING | Toyota | 1 | Hiroaki Ishiura | All |
| JMS P.mu/cerumo・INGING | Toyota | 2 | Yuji Kunimoto | All |
| Kondo Racing | Toyota | 3 | Nick Cassidy | All |
| Kondo Racing | Toyota | 4 | Kenta Yamashita | All |
| Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | 5 | Tomoki Nojiri | All |
| Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | 6 | Nobuharu Matsushita | All |
| UOMO Sunoco Team LeMans | Toyota | 7 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 1 |
| UOMO Sunoco Team LeMans | Toyota | 7 | Tom Dillmann | 2–7 |
| UOMO Sunoco Team LeMans | Toyota | 8 | Kazuya Oshima | All |
| Team Mugen | Honda | 15 | Nirei Fukuzumi | 1, 5–7 |
| Team Mugen | Honda | 15 | Sena Sakaguchi | 2 |
| Team Mugen | Honda | 15 | Dan Ticktum | 3–4 |
| Team Mugen | Honda | 16 | Naoki Yamamoto | All |
| REAL Racing | Honda | 17 | Koudai Tsukakoshi | All |
| carrozzeria Team KCMG | Toyota | 18 | Kamui Kobayashi | 1–4, 6–7 |
| carrozzeria Team KCMG | Toyota | 18 | Yuichi Nakayama | 5 |
| Itochu Enex Team Impul | Toyota | 19 | Yuhi Sekiguchi | All |
| Itochu Enex Team Impul | Toyota | 20 | Ryo Hirakawa | All |
| Vantelin Team Tom's | Toyota | 36 | Kazuki Nakajima | 1–4, 6–7 |
| Vantelin Team Tom's | Toyota | 36 | João Paulo de Oliveira | 5 |
| Vantelin Team Tom's | Toyota | 37 | James Rossiter | All |
| B-MAX Racing Team | Honda | 50 | Katsumasa Chiyo | All |
| TCS Nakajima Racing | Honda | 64 | Narain Karthikeyan | All |
| TCS Nakajima Racing | Honda | 65 | Takuya Izawa | All |

### Driver changes

* Nissan Super GT driver Katsumasa Chiyo replaced Takashi Kogure in the B-MAX Racing Team.
* 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5 champion Pietro Fittipaldi replaced Felix Rosenqvist in the Team LeMans. Tom Dillmann is scheduled to substitute Fittipaldi at the Autopolis and Sugo rounds, who will be busy due to his 2018 IndyCar Series commitments. After Fittipaldi was injured at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Dillman replaced Fittipaldi for more rounds.
* Pierre Gasly left the series to compete in Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso. His place at Team Mugen was taken by Nirei Fukuzumi, who finished third in the 2017 GP3 Series. Fukuzumi will also compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and is set to prioritise F2 rounds over Super Formula where any dates clash.
* André Lotterer left the TOM'S team and the championship after fifteen consecutive seasons since 2003. His seat was taken by James Rossiter, formerly of Kondo Racing who returns after a season out.
* Nobuharu Matsushita returned to Japan after two seasons in the GP2 Series and one season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, joining Docomo Team Dandelion Racing. He takes the seat of Takuya Izawa, who moved to Nakajima Racing.
* Ryo Hirakawa returned to Super Formula for the first time since 2015 with Team Impul, replacing Jann Mardenborough.

## Race calendar and results

Due to scheduling restrictions imposed by the concurrent Japan WTCR round, the final round of the calendar at Suzuka Circuit will now feature a single race instead of the originally planned double-header.
| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team |
| 1 | 1 | Suzuka Circuit | 22 April | Naoki Yamamoto | James Rossiter | Naoki Yamamoto | Team Mugen |
| 2 | 2 | Autopolis | 13 May | Ryo Hirakawa | Race cancelled due to weather conditions | Race cancelled due to weather conditions | Race cancelled due to weather conditions |
| 3 | 3 | Sportsland SUGO | 27 May | Tomoki Nojiri | Yuhi Sekiguchi | Naoki Yamamoto | Team Mugen |
| 4 | 4 | Fuji Speedway | 8 July | Nick Cassidy | Nick Cassidy | Nick Cassidy | Kondo Racing |
| 5 | 5 | Twin Ring Motegi | 19 August | Hiroaki Ishiura | Nirei Fukuzumi | Hiroaki Ishiura | JMS P.mu/Cerumo・INGING |
| 6 | 6 | Okayama International Circuit | 9 September | Yuhi Sekiguchi | Kamui Kobayashi | Yuhi Sekiguchi | Itochu Enex Team Impul |
| 7 | 7 | Suzuka Circuit | 27 October | Naoki Yamamoto | Yuhi Sekiguchi | Naoki Yamamoto | Team Mugen |

## Championship standings
### Drivers' Championship
#### Scoring system

| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pole |
| Rounds 1-6 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Round 7 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |

#### Driver standings

| Pos | Driver | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUZ | Points |
| 1 | Naoki Yamamoto | 1 | C | 1 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 38 |
| 2 | Nick Cassidy | 7 | C | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 37 |
| 3 | Hiroaki Ishiura | 4 | C | 11 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Yuhi Sekiguchi | 2 | C | 13 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 18 |
| 5 | Ryo Hirakawa | Ret | C | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 17 |
| 6 | Kazuki Nakajima | 8 | C | 3 | 5 | | 17 | 5 | 15 |
| 7 | Tomoki Nojiri | 3 | C | 7 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 12.5 |
| 8 | Yuji Kunimoto | 13 | C | Ret | 3 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 11.5 |
| 9 | Kenta Yamashita | 9 | C | 8 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 11.5 |
| 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | 10 | C | 6 | 12 | | 2 | 13 | 7 |
| 11 | Nobuharu Matsushita | 12 | C | 10 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| 12 | Kazuya Oshima | 15 | C | 15 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 14 | 6 |
| 13 | Koudai Tsukakoshi | 6 | C | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| 14 | Tom Dillmann | | C | 4 | 10 | 12 | Ret | 15 | 5 |
| 15 | Narain Karthikeyan | 17 | C | 5 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 4 |
| 16 | Takuya Izawa | 5 | C | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 4 |
| 17 | James Rossiter | 11 | C | Ret | 19 | 9 | 11 | Ret | 0 |
| 18 | Katsumasa Chiyo | 14 | C | Ret | 17 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 0 |
| 19 | Dan Ticktum | | | Ret | 11 | | | | 0 |
| 20 | Nirei Fukuzumi | Ret | | | | 17 | 18 | 12 | 0 |
| 21 | Yuichi Nakayama | | | | | 13 | | | 0 |
| 22 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 16 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 23 | João Paulo de Oliveira | | | | | 18 | | | 0 |
| — | Sena Sakaguchi | | C | | | | | | — |
| Pos | Driver | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUZ | Points |

### Teams' Championship

| Pos | Team | No. | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUZ | Points |
| 1 | Kondo Racing | 3 | 7 | C | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 47.5 |
| 1 | Kondo Racing | 4 | 9 | C | 8 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 47.5 |
| 2 | Team Mugen | 15 | Ret | C | Ret | 11 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 36 |
| 2 | Team Mugen | 16 | 1 | C | 1 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 36 |
| 3 | P.mu/Cerumo・INGING | 1 | 4 | C | 11 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 35.5 |
| 3 | P.mu/Cerumo・INGING | 2 | 13 | C | Ret | 3 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 35.5 |
| 4 | Itochu Enex Team Impul | 19 | 2 | C | 13 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 33 |
| 4 | Itochu Enex Team Impul | 20 | Ret | C | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 33 |
| 5 | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 5 | 3 | C | 7 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 18.5 |
| 5 | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 6 | 12 | C | 10 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 18.5 |
| 6 | Vantelin Team Tom's | 36 | 8 | C | 3 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | Vantelin Team Tom's | 37 | 11 | C | Ret | 19 | 9 | 11 | Ret | 15 |
| 7 | UOMO Sunoco Team LeMans | 7 | 16 | C | 4 | 10 | 12 | Ret | 15 | 11 |
| 7 | UOMO Sunoco Team LeMans | 8 | 15 | C | 15 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 14 | 11 |
| 8 | TCS Nakajima Racing | 64 | 17 | C | 5 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 8 |
| 8 | TCS Nakajima Racing | 65 | 5 | C | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 8 |
| 9 | carrozzeria Team KCMG | 18 | 10 | C | 6 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 7 |
| 10 | REAL Racing | 17 | 6 | C | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| 11 | B-MAX Racing Team | 50 | 14 | C | Ret | 17 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | No. | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUZ | Points |