# Nobuharu Matsushita

Nobuharu Matsushita (松下信治, Matsushita Nobuharu, born 13 October 1993) is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super GT for ARTA and Super Formula for TGM Grand Prix.

## Early career
### Karting

Born in Saitama, Matsushita began his racing career in karting in 2005, competing the All-Japan Junior Kart Championship. In 2008, he clinched the championship title in the Open Masters Kart ARTA Challenge. He ended his karting participations in 2010, finishing third in the KF1 category of the All Japan Kart Championship.

### Formula Pilota China and Formula Challenge Japan

In 2011, Matsushita graduated to single–seaters into the Formula Pilota China with the Super License team. He missed the Ordos round, but after his returning he showed better performance than in the first part of the season. He won the final race of the season at Sepang and finished the season fourth.
For 2012, he switched to the Formula Challenge Japan mono-series. He scored ten podiums in twelve races, including five wins and took the championship title.

### All-Japan Formula Three
#### 2013

In 2013, Matsushita stepped up to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with the HFDP Racing. He collected five podiums and another seven point-scoring finishes, to end the season fifth in the series standings, it was the best result for the Honda driver.

#### 2014

For the next season he decided to stay in the series with the same team. He was victorious at Motegi, Fuji and Sugo, grabbing the championship title from Kenta Yamashita with a twelve-point gap.

### GP2 Series and FIA Formula 2
#### 2015

Matsushita made his début in the GP2 Series in 2015 with ART Grand Prix. In the first race at Bahrain, he qualified second on the grid opposite teammate Stoffel Vandoorne and finished in the points in both races, setting the fastest lap in the sprint race. At the Red Bull Ring, Matsushita took his first GP2 podium by finishing third in the sprint race. He took his first victory in the sport in the sprint race at the Hungaroring as part of an ART 1–2. He finished 9th in the overall standings.

#### 2016

In February 2016, it was announced Matsushita would reunite with ART for a second season, alongside fellow 2015 rookie Sergey Sirotkin. Matsushita was suspended for the 4th round of the season in Austria due to erratic driving at the previous event in Baku.

#### 2017

In 2017, Matsushita competed in the inaugural Formula 2 championship, driving for ART Grand Prix alongside Alexander Albon. He scored his first win in the sprint race in Spain, and his second one during the sprint race in Hungary. He scored two more podiums, in Monaco and in Monza and finished sixth in the final standings, beating Albon by 45 points.

#### 2019

Matsushita returned to Formula 2 in 2019 with the Carlin team, partnering Louis Delétraz. He won the feature races at the Red Bull Ring and in Monza. He, again, finished 6th in the championship, two positions above his teammate.

#### 2020

He was announced to drive for MP Motorsport in the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship together with Brazilian Felipe Drugovich. Matsushita announced that he would be leaving the F2 Championship with immediate effect on 22 September 2020.

### Formula One

On 20 February 2016, Matsushita was signed as a development driver for McLaren.

## Super Formula and Super GT career
### Super Formula

In 2018, Matsushita returned to Japan to compete in Super Formula for Honda team Dandelion. He returns to the series in 2020 racing with B-Max Racing, where he replaces Sérgio Sette Câmara who moved to Formula E. He continues racing with B-Max once again, competed from the second round. For 2022, he stays again with the same team. Matsushita clinched his first win of the series in Suzuka. For 2023, Matsushita continues racing with B-Max once again. Matsushita ended his association with B-Max as he moves to TGM Grand Prix last minute.

### Super GT
#### GT300

Matsushita made his debut in the Japanese Super GT Series in the last two rounds of the 2020 season, replacing Shinichi Takagi – who had sustained injuries from a crash in a Super Taikyu race – in the Honda NSX GT3 Evo of ARTA in the GT300 class. Driving alongside co-driver Toshiki Oyu, the pair finished the races at Motegi and Fuji Speedway eighth and seventh, respectively. After He left Honda, Matsushita moves to their manufacturer's rival Nissan where he stepped up to GT500 racing with Team Impul alongside Kazuki Hiramine. Both pairs wins their first GT500 race, and clinched 8th in the standings. Matsushita returns to Honda, and moves to Real Racing to partner up with Koudai Tsukakoshi switching with Bertrand Baguette who moves to the other team.

#### GT500

For the 2021 season, Matsushita decided to join Nissan in the GT500 class, despite having been a Honda junior throughout his career. He was placed at Team Impul alongside Kazuki Hiramine. The duo won the fifth round at Sportsland Sugo, ending a five year win drought for the Impul team. They nearly also won round seven at Motegi, but Hiramine ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading, although he was able to coast to the finish in third. They finished the season eighth in the championship, the best result for Nissan drivers that year.
Matsushita rejoined Honda as a factory driver and signed with Astemo Real Racing to race with Koudai Tsukakoshi. Matsushita replaced Bertrand Baguette, who went to Team Impul. For two seasons, he won only one race in Autopolis 2022.
Matsushita then return to ARTA to race with Tomoki Nojiri.

## Racing record
### Career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
| 2011 | Formula Pilota China | Super License | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 89 | 4th |
| 2012 | Formula Challenge Japan | HFDP with ARTA | 12 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 91 | 1st |
| 2013 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | HFDP Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 43 | 5th |
| 2014 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | HFDP Racing | 15 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 102 | 1st |
| 2015 | GP2 Series | ART Grand Prix | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 68.5 | 9th |
| 2015–16 | MRF Challenge Formula 2000 | MRF Racing | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 80 | 6th |
| 2016 | GP2 Series | ART Grand Prix | 20 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 92 | 11th |
| 2016 | Formula One | McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver |
| 2017 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | ART Grand Prix | 22 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 131 | 6th |
| 2017 | Formula One | Sauber F1 Team | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver | Development driver |
| 2018 | Super Formula | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11th |
| 2019 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | Carlin | 22 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 144 | 6th |
| 2019 | Euroformula Open Championship | Carlin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 18th |
| 2019 | Euroformula Open Winter Series | Carlin | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 4th |
| 2020 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | MP Motorsport | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 15th |
| 2020 | Super GT - GT300 | ARTA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 23rd |
| 2020 | Super Formula | Buzz Racing with B-Max | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 15th |
| 2021 | Super GT - GT500 | Team Impul | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 8th |
| 2021 | Super Formula | B-Max Racing | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.5 | 8th |
| 2022 | Super Formula | B-Max Racing | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 13th |
| 2022 | Super GT - GT500 | Astemo Real Racing | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 4th |
| 2023 | Super Formula | B-Max Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19th |
| 2023 | Super GT - GT500 | Astemo Real Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 6th |
| 2024 | Super GT - GT500 | ARTA | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 9th |
| 2024 | Super Formula | TGM Grand Prix | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15th |
| 2025 | Super GT - GT500 | ARTA | | | | | | | |

### Complete GP2 Series/FIA Formula 2 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 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
| 2015 | ART Grand Prix | BHR FEA 10 | BHR SPR 6 | CAT FEA 11 | CAT SPR 18 | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR 19 | RBR FEA 4 | RBR SPR 3 | SIL FEA Ret | SIL SPR 19 | HUN FEA 8 | HUN SPR 1 | SPA FEA Ret | SPA SPR 15 | MNZ FEA Ret | MNZ SPR 15 | SOC FEA 10 | SOC SPR 7 | BHR FEA 2 | BHR SPR Ret | YMC FEA 11 | YMC SPR C | | | 9th | 68.5 |
| 2016 | ART Grand Prix | CAT FEA 11 | CAT SPR 8 | MON FEA 8 | MON SPR 1 | BAK FEA 6 | BAK SPR Ret | RBR FEA EX | RBR SPR EX | SIL FEA 6 | SIL SPR 5 | HUN FEA 6 | HUN SPR Ret | HOC FEA 9 | HOC SPR 12 | SPA FEA 11 | SPA SPR 11 | MNZ FEA 11 | MNZ SPR 6 | SEP FEA Ret | SEP SPR 7 | YMC FEA 2 | YMC SPR 4 | | | 11th | 92 |
| 2017 | ART Grand Prix | BHR FEA 8 | BHR SPR 14 | CAT FEA 4 | CAT SPR 1 | MON FEA 3 | MON SPR 7 | BAK FEA 12 | BAK SPR 6 | RBR FEA 6 | RBR SPR 14 | SIL FEA 10 | SIL SPR 8 | HUN FEA 5 | HUN SPR 1 | SPA FEA 16 | SPA SPR Ret | MNZ FEA 2 | MNZ SPR 7 | JER FEA 18 | JER SPR 11 | YMC FEA 6 | YMC SPR 4 | | | 6th | 131 |
| 2019 | Carlin | BHR FEA 9 | BHR SPR 12 | BAK FEA 13 | BAK SPR 12 | CAT FEA 11 | CAT SPR Ret | MON FEA 2 | MON SPR 9 | LEC FEA 9 | LEC SPR 9 | RBR FEA 1 | RBR SPR 5 | SIL FEA 9 | SIL SPR 7 | HUN FEA 7 | HUN SPR 2 | SPA FEA C | SPA SPR C | MNZ FEA 1 | MNZ SPR 5 | SOC FEA 6 | SOC SPR Ret | YMC FEA 2 | YMC SPR 7 | 6th | 144 |
| 2020 | MP Motorsport | RBR1 FEA 9 | RBR1 SPR 6 | RBR2 FEA 17 | RBR2 SPR 11 | HUN FEA 12 | HUN SPR 11 | SIL1 FEA 10 | SIL1 SPR 7 | SIL2 FEA 11 | SIL2 SPR 18 | CAT FEA 1 | CAT SPR 5 | SPA FEA Ret | SPA SPR DNS | MNZ FEA 15 | MNZ SPR 11 | MUG FEA 11 | MUG SPR 14 | SOC FEA | SOC SPR | BHR1 FEA | BHR1 SPR | BHR2 FEA | BHR2 SPR | 15th | 42 |

### 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 | DC | Points |
| 2018 | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | Honda | SUZ 12 | AUT C | SUG 10 | FUJ 9 | MOT 4 | OKA 9 | SUZ 7 | | | | 11th | 7 |
| 2020 | Buzz Racing with B-Max | Honda | MOT | OKA | SUG | AUT 6 | SUZ Ret | SUZ 14 | FUJ 3 | | | | 15th | 16 |
| 2021 | B-Max Racing | Honda | FUJ | SUZ 13 | AUT 3‡ | SUG 4 | MOT 3$^3$ | MOT 6 | SUZ 12$^3$ | | | | 8th | 33.5 |
| 2022 | B-Max Racing | Honda | FUJ Ret | FUJ 19 | SUZ 1 | AUT 10 | SUG Ret | FUJ Ret | MOT 11 | MOT 11 | SUZ 17 | SUZ Ret | 13th | 21 |
| 2023 | B-Max Racing | Honda | FUJ 13 | FUJ 12 | SUZ 12 | AUT Ret | SUG Ret | FUJ 13 | MOT Ret | SUZ 13 | SUZ 7 | | 19th | 4 |
| 2024 | TGM Grand Prix | Honda | SUZ 8 | AUT 16 | SUG 19 | FUJ | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | SUZ | | 15th | 3 |
$^‡$ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

### 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 |
| 2020 | ARTA | Honda NSX GT3 Evo | GT300 | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | MOT 8 | FUJ 7 | 23rd | 7 |
| 2021 | Team Impul | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT500 | GT500 | OKA 10 | FUJ 9 | MOT 11 | SUZ 6 | SUG 1 | AUT 7 | MOT 3 | FUJ 9 | 8th | 45 |
| 2022 | Astemo Real Racing | Honda NSX-Type S GT500 | GT500 | OKA 9 | FUJ 9‡ | SUZ 2 | FUJ 10 | SUZ 2 | SUG 12 | AUT 1 | MOT 5 | 4th | 60 |
| 2023 | Astemo Real Racing | Honda NSX-Type S GT500 | GT500 | OKA 7 | FUJ 3 | SUZ 9 | FUJ 7 | SUZ 4 | SUG DSQ | AUT 6 | MOT 3 | 6th | 45 |
| 2024 | ARTA | Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 | GT500 | OKA 8 | FUJ 14 | SUZ Ret | FUJ 1 | SUG 15 | AUT 11 | MOT 2 | SUZ 12 | 9th | 43 |
| 2025 | ARTA | 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.