# Tadasuke Makino

Tadasuke Makino (牧野任祐, Makino Tadasuke, born 28 June 1997) is a Japanese racing driver for Honda Motor Company who currently competes in Super GT for Team Kunimitsu and in the Super Formula Championship for Dandelion Racing. A feature race winner in the FIA Formula 2 Championship during his time abroad in junior categories, Makino has competed in the top level of Japan's domestic racing scene since 2019. Alongside teammate Naoki Yamamoto, he won the GT500 class championship in Super GT in 2020.

## Career
### Early career

Makino started karting in 2004 at the Kansai Kartland circuit in Sakai and made his race debut the following year. He remained in karting until 2013, winning the All-Japan Karting Championship's FS-125 class in 2011 and making his international karting debut during the same year.
In 2014, Makino stepped up to formula racing, entering the Okayama series of the entry-level Super FJ category as well as select races in JAF Formula 4. He would go on to dominate Super FJ and JAF F4 for the next two years, winning all but one race he competed in against the likes of Yūki Nemoto and Shunsuke Kohno.

### Formula 4

In 2015, Makino made the move to Japan's new official Formula 4 Championship, and raced for the Rn-sports team. He won four of the championship's first five races at the Okayama International Circuit and Fuji Speedway (both two wins) straight away, but then had to wait until the final race weekend at Twin Ring Motegi to add two more wins to his name. At the end of the season, he finished second with 192 points, just three points fewer than eventual champion Sho Tsuboi.

### Formula 3

In 2016, Makino made his Formula 3 debut in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship as a driver from Honda's training program. In this he raced for the TODA Racing team. He took four podiums and was fifth in the championship with 41 points. At the end of the season, he competed in three races of the Super GT for Drago Modulo Honda Racing GT500, taking one podium finish alongside Hideki Mutoh at the Chang International Circuit. He also drove for Toda Racing in the Grand Prix of Macau, in which he finished fourteenth.
In 2017 Makino continued to drive in Formula 3, but made the switch to the European Formula 3 Championship as a driver for Hitech GP. He had a difficult start to the season, scoring only twice in the first half of the year before breaking his wrist and finger in an accident with Harrison Newey at the Norisring. Despite his injury, he only missed the race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. After his return, he regularly finished in the top 10 with a podium finish at the Red Bull Ring as the highlight. In the end, he finished fifteenth in the final standings with 57 points.`

### Formula 2

In 2018 Makino made his Formula 2 debut with the Russian Time team. He scored points regularly until he surprisingly won the feature race at the Monza in the second half of the season thanks to good strategy. He finished thirteenth in the standings with 48 points.

### Super Formula

In 2019 Makino returned to Japan to participate in the Super Formula for the team Nakajima Racing. In the end of 2020, Makino suffered from meningitis and thus skipped the Super Formula finale, where he was replaced by Hiroki Otsu. For the 2021 season, Makino moved from Nakajima Racing to Dandelion Racing. But he did not enter the first two rounds, due to still being in healing phase, which meant Ukyo Sasahara covered for him in those races. Makino returned at the third round in Autopolis. Makino then stayed with the same team till now and he grabbed couple of podiums every year.

### Super GT

In 2019, Makino stepped up to Super GT GT500 along with his Super Formula program. He competed with Nakajima Racing alongside Narain Karthikeyan. The next season he replaced Jenson Button as he competed with Team Kunimitsu alongside former GT500 title winner Naoki Yamamoto. Both Yamamoto and Makino won the Super GT title, beating Ryo Hirakawa in the last race. Makino continued racing with the team for the next couple of seasons, but had to skip one round due to illness in 2021 and was covered by Hideki Mutoh.

## Karting record
### Karting career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Position |
| 2006 | SL Osaka Series - Comer | | 2nd |
| 2006 | M4 All-Japan Championship - Cadets | | 1st |
| 2007 | SL Biwako Series - Yamaha Junior | | 1st |
| 2007 | SL Osaka Series - Yamaha Junior | | 1st |
| 2007 | M4 WEST Series - Cadets | | 1st |
| 2008 | SL All-Japan Kart Meeting - TIA Junior | | 1st |
| 2010 | JAF Junior Karting Championship - FP-Jr | Akiland R | 5th |
| 2011 | All-Japan Karting Championship - FS-125 | Akiland Racing | 1st |
| 2011 | Rotax Max Euro Challenge — Junior | Intrepid Force Rotax | 31st |
| 2011 | Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Junior | EIKO Japan | 29th |
| 2011 | WSK Final Cup — KF3 | Tony Kart Racing Team | 14th |
| 2012 | All-Japan Karting Championship - KF1 | TOYOTA/YAMAHA RT | 4th |
| 2012 | Rotax International Open — Senior | | 33rd |
| 2012 | IAME International Final — X30 Senior | | 18th |
| 2012 | Rotax Max Euro Challenge — Senior | | 19th |
| 2012 | CIK-FIA Asia Pacific Championship — KF2 | | 25th |
| 2013 | All-Japan Karting Championship - KF1 | TOYOTA/YAMAHA RT | 6th |
| 2013 | Florida Winter Tour — Rotax Senior | | 5th |
| 2013 | CIK-FIA Asia Pacific Championship — KF | TAKAGI PLANNING | 19th |
| 2014 | All-Japan Karting Championship - KF | ADVAN HIROTEX RACING | 26th |

## Racing record
### Career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
| 2014 | Super FJ Okayama Series | Rn-sports | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 100 | 1st |
| 2014 | Super FJ - All-Japan Masters Race | Rn-sports | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 1st |
| 2014 | JAF Formula 4 - West Series | Marusan MYST [ja]/Rn-sports | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 9th |
| 2015 | F4 Japanese Championship | Rn-sports | 14 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 192 | 2nd |
| 2015 | JAF Formula 4 - East Series | Rn-sports/MYST [ja] | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 80 | 1st |
| 2015 | JAF Formula 4 - West Series | Rn-sports/MYST [ja] | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 100 | 1st |
| 2016 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | Toda Racing | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 5th |
| 2016 | Macau Grand Prix | Toda Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 14th |
| 2016 | Super GT - GT500 | Drago Modulo Honda Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 16th |
| 2016 | Super GT - GT300 | Cars Tokai Dream28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2017 | FIA Formula 3 European Championship | Hitech GP | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 15th |
| 2017 | Macau Grand Prix | Motopark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 9th |
| 2018 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | Russian Time | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 13th |
| 2019 | Super GT - GT500 | Modulo Nakajima Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23.5 | 12th |
| 2019 | Super Formula | TCS Nakajima Racing | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16th |
| 2019 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Honda Team Motul | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2020 | Super GT - GT500 | Team Kunimitsu | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 1st |
| 2020 | Super Formula | TCS Nakajima Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 12th |
| 2021 | Super GT - GT500 | Team Kunimitsu | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 4th |
| 2021 | Super Formula | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 9th |
| 2022 | Super GT - GT500 | Team Kunimitsu | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 62 | 3rd |
| 2022 | Super Formula | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 5th |
| 2023 | Super GT - GT500 | Team Kunimitsu | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 10th |
| 2023 | Super Formula | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 6th |
| 2023 | Super Taikyu - ST-Z | Techno First | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99‡ | 3rd‡ |
| 2024 | Super GT - GT500 | Stanley Team Kunimitsu | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 2nd |
| 2024 | Super Formula | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 86 | 3rd |
| 2025 | Super Formula | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 4th* |
| 2025 | Super GT - GT500 | Stanley Team Kunimitsu | | | | | | | |
$^*$ Season still in progress.
‡ Team standings

### Complete F4 Japanese Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Pts |
| 2015 | Honda Formula Dream Project | OKA 1 1 | OKA 2 1 | FUJ1 1 2 | FUJ1 2 1 | FUJ2 1 1 | FUJ2 2 26 | SUZ 1 2 | SUZ 2 2 | SUG 1 2 | SUG 2 3 | AUT 1 9 | AUT 2 5 | MOT 1 1 | MOT 2 1 | 2nd | 192 |

### Complete Japanese Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
| 2016 | Toda Racing | SUZ1 1 8 | SUZ1 2 6 | FUJ1 1 6 | FUJ1 2 6 | OKA1 1 Ret | OKA1 1 2 | SUZ2 1 4 | SUZ2 2 6 | FUJ2 1 3 | FUJ2 2 5 | MOT 1 2 | MOT 2 5 | OKA2 1 5 | OKA2 2 3 | SUG 1 4 | SUG 2 9 | SUG 3 7 | 5th | 41 |

### Complete Super GT results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
| 2016 | Cars Tokai Dream28 | Lotus Evora MC | GT300 | OKA | FUJ | SUG | FUJ | SUZ Ret | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2016 | Drago Modulo Honda Racing | Honda NSX Concept-GT | GT500 | | | | | | CHA 2 | MOT 12 | MOT 15 | 16th | 15 |
| 2019 | Modulo Nakajima Racing | Honda NSX-GT | GT500 | OKA 10 | FUJ 10 | SUZ 11 | CHA 10 | FUJ 10 | AUT 7 | SUG 2 | MOT 12 | 12th | 23.5 |
| 2020 | Team Kunimitsu | Honda NSX-GT | GT500 | FUJ 6 | FUJ 5 | SUZ 2 | MOT 5 | FUJ 5 | SUZ Ret | MOT 3 | FUJ 1 | 1st | 69 |
| 2021 | Team Kunimitsu | Honda NSX-GT | GT500 | OKA | FUJ 4 | MOT 1 | SUZ 4 | SUG 2 | AUT 6 | MOT 12 | FUJ 14 | 4th | 57 |
| 2022 | Team Kunimitsu | Honda NSX-GT | GT500 | OKA 2 | FUJ 5‡ | SUZ 9 | FUJ 8 | SUZ 11 | SUG 8 | AUT 2 | MOT 1 | 3rd | 62 |
| 2023 | Team Kunimitsu | Honda NSX-GT | GT500 | OKA 12 | FUJ 2 | SUZ 5 | FUJ 6 | SUZ 7 | SUG Ret | AUT 9 | MOT 10 | 10th | 34 |
| 2024 | Stanley Team Kunimitsu | Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 | GT500 | OKA 3 | FUJ 7 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 2 | SUG 5 | AUT 4 | MOT 6 | SUZ 4 | 2nd | 64 |
| 2025 | Stanley Team Kunimitsu | Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 | GT500 | OKA | FUJ | SEP | FUJ | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT | | |
$^‡$ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

### Complete Macau Grand Prix results

| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
| 2016 | Toda Racing | Dallara F312 | 22nd | 19th | 14th |
| 2017 | Motopark | Dallara F317 | 12th | 17th | 9th |

### Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | DC | Points |
| 2017 | Hitech GP | Mercedes | SIL 1 11 | SIL 2 19 | SIL 3 15 | MNZ 1 12 | MNZ 2 14 | MNZ 3 13 | PAU 1 13 | PAU 2 12 | PAU 3 7 | HUN 1 13 | HUN 2 17 | HUN 3 17 | NOR 1 8 | NOR 2 14 | NOR 3 Ret | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | SPA 3 | ZAN 1 Ret | ZAN 2 15 | ZAN 3 16 | NÜR 1 7 | NÜR 2 4 | NÜR 3 19 | RBR 1 5 | RBR 2 17 | RBR 3 3 | HOC 1 9 | HOC 2 9 | HOC 3 11 | 15th | 57 |

### Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
| 2018 | Russian Time | BHR FEA 19 | BHR SPR 17 | BAK FEA 9 | BAK SPR 9 | CAT FEA 9 | CAT SPR Ret | MON FEA 14† | MON SPR Ret | LEC FEA 8 | LEC SPR Ret | RBR FEA 7 | RBR SPR 6 | SIL FEA 12 | SIL SPR 11 | HUN FEA 9 | HUN SPR 12 | SPA FEA 12 | SPA SPR 11 | MNZ FEA 1 | MNZ SPR 14 | SOC FEA 10 | SOC SPR 11 | YMC FEA 9 | YMC SPR Ret | 13th | 48 |
$^†$ Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

### Complete Super Formula results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
| 2019 | TCS Nakajima Racing | Honda | SUZ Ret | AUT 4 | SUG 14 | FUJ 10 | MOT Ret | OKA 17 | SUZ 13 | | | | | | 16th | 6 |
| 2020 | TCS Nakajima Racing | Honda | MOT 9 | OKA Ret | SUG 7 | AUT 3 | SUZ Ret | SUZ 8 | FUJ | | | | | | 12th | 20 |
| 2021 | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | FUJ | SUZ | AUT 14 | SUG 5$^2$ | MOT 7 | MOT 3 | SUZ 10 | | | | | | 9th | 24 |
| 2022 | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | FUJ 6 | FUJ Ret | SUZ 3 | AUT 6$^3$ | SUG 4 | FUJ 5 | MOT 4 | MOT 3 | SUZ 7 | SUZ 9 | | | 5th | 61 |
| 2023 | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | FUJ 14 | FUJ 8 | SUZ 15 | AUT 6 | SUG 3 | FUJ 2$^1$ | MOT Ret | SUZ 4$^3$‡ | SUZ 10 | | | | 6th | 43 |
| 2024 | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | SUZ 10 | AUT 1$^2$ | SUG 4‡ | FUJ 5 | MOT 1 | FUJ 4 | FUJ 3 | SUZ 3 | SUZ 8 | | | | 3rd | 86 |
| 2025 | docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | SUZ 10 | SUZ 1 | MOT | MOT | AUT | FUJ | FUJ | SUG | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | SUZ | 4th* | 21 |
$^‡$ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. $^*$ Season still in progress.