The 2026 Japanese F4 Championship returned to Fuji Speedway for Round 3, where Ryo Shirasaki continued his remarkable recovery from a scoreless opening weekend.
The HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing driver claimed both pole positions and converted them into another two victories. Having also swept Round 2 at Okayama, Shirasaki has now won four consecutive races and moved from 19 points behind Masana Muto to 11 points ahead.
At 28 years and 52 days, Shirasaki also became the oldest driver to lead the Japanese F4 Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, “Hirobon” and Yutaka Toriba shared the Independent Class victories as their championship battle remained close.
Results from Round 3 of the 2026 Japanese F4 season at Fuji
Shirasaki extends winning streak at Fuji
Shirasaki carried his Okayama momentum into Qualifying at Fuji and set a 1:47.152 to secure pole for Race 1. Ponos Racing’s Megumu Suzuki finished only 0.154 seconds behind, while TGR-DC Racing School’s Ryo Sakai took third with a 1:47.364.
Muto followed in fourth ahead of Lu You De and Falcon Motorsport’s Haru Kataoka. However, officials handed Sakai, Muto and Lu three-place grid penalties after they exceeded the permitted number of track-limit infringements. Consequently, Kataoka moved onto row two alongside Masaki Hamabe, while Ryutaro Sakai inherited fifth. Shirasaki also recorded the fastest second-best lap, giving him pole for Race 2.
Shirasaki and Suzuki retained the leading positions when Race 1 began, while Kataoka struggled to launch from third. Hamabe consequently moved into the final podium position, but the opening corner immediately produced further changes behind him.
Ryo Sakai hit Ryutaro Sakai at Turn 1 and spun the Mitsusada Racing driver. Both continued, although the incident dropped them towards the rear of the field. Muto therefore climbed into fourth before passing teammate Hamabe for third on lap three.
Muto quickly closed on Suzuki and recorded the fastest lap as the leading three began to separate from the rest of the field. Nevertheless, the order remained unchanged until a dramatic final lap.
Suzuki started the last tour only 0.434s behind Shirasaki and remained close through the opening sector. He gained a stronger exit from Turn 6 and drew alongside the leader on the approach to the Dunlop corner, but Shirasaki defended and forced Suzuki onto the escape road.
That moment allowed Muto to attack second. Suzuki initially resisted through the final sector, but Muto used the slipstream out of the last corner and beat him to the line by only 0.025s.
Shirasaki took his third consecutive victory by 0.933s over Muto. Suzuki finished another 0.025s behind and secured both his maiden Japanese F4 podium and his first points of the season. Hamabe followed in fourth ahead of Yuta Suzuki and Ryusho Nakazato.
Shirasaki completes second consecutive sweep
Shirasaki started Race 2 from pole alongside Ryo Sakai, while Megumu Suzuki and Hamabe shared the second row.
Once again, Shirasaki retained the lead at the start, with Sakai holding second. However, Suzuki made a poor getaway from third and dropped to ninth, allowing Hamabe to inherit the final podium position.
Syo Momose produced a considerably stronger opening lap from eighth and climbed to fourth. The Honda junior then began applying pressure to Hamabe as Shirasaki and Sakai established themselves at the front.
Momose repeatedly looked for a way past the TGR-DC driver before finally completing the move. His progress moved him into third, although the leading pair had already created a useful advantage.
Meanwhile, Sakai remained close enough to keep Shirasaki under pressure. From around lap 10, the gap frequently sat near half a second, but Sakai never moved close enough to launch a serious attempt for the lead.
Shirasaki therefore completed 14 laps in 25:06.867 and secured his fourth consecutive victory. Sakai crossed the line only 0.283s behind to claim his best Japanese F4 result, while Momose finished third and secured his second podium of the season.
Hamabe took fourth ahead of Kazuma Kurosawa and Kenta Kumagai. Muto could only finish ninth, meaning Shirasaki overturned the 19-point deficit he had carried into Fuji and emerged as the new championship leader.
Champion Class standings transformed
Shirasaki entered Round 3 on 50 points after his Okayama double, 19 behind Muto. Two further victories added the maximum 50 points and moved the HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing driver to 100.
Muto’s second place in Race 1 kept him close, but ninth in Race 2 limited his Sunday score. He now sits second on 89 points and trails Shirasaki by 11.
Kumagai remains third but has only 48 points, leaving him 52 behind the championship leader. Ryo Sakai’s runner-up finish moved him to fourth on 45, one point ahead of Igarashi.
Momose climbed to sixth with 37 points after his Race 2 podium, while Hamabe and Yuzuki Miura share 34. Yuta Suzuki occupies ninth on 30, with Ryutaro Sakai completing the top 10 on 27.
In the Teams’ Championship, TGR-DC Racing School retained first place with 122 points. However, HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing closed to within 14 after Shirasaki’s latest double victory.
OTG Motor Sports remains third on 48 points, while HFDP with B-Max Racing Team follows on 39. Ponos Racing entered the standings with 15 points after Megumu Suzuki’s Race 1 podium.
2026 Japanese F4 Standings after Round 3 at Fuji: Champion Class
Drivers’ Standings
- Ryo Shirasaki – 100 points
- Masana Muto – 89 points
- Kenta Kumagai – 48 points
- Ryo Sakai – 45 points
- Buntaro Igarashi – 44 points
- Syo Momose – 37 points
- Masaki Hamabe – 34 points
- Yuzuki Miura – 34 points
- Yuta Suzuki – 30 points
- Ryutaro Sakai – 27 points
Teams’ Standings
- TGR-DC Racing School – 122 points
- HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing – 108 points
- OTG MOTOR SPORTS – 48 points
- HFDP with B-Max Racing Team – 39 points
- Mitsusada Racing – 27 points
- AKILAND Racing – 22 points
- B-MAX ENGINEERING – 18 points
- PONOS RACING – 15 points
- FALCON MOTORSPORT – 10 points
- TEAM 5ZIGEN – 10 points
Full 2026 Japanese F4 standings
Hirobon and Toriba share Independent Class victories
The Independent Class produced a significantly closer weekend, beginning with a tightly contested Qualifying session.
Toriba eventually secured Race 1 pole with a 1:48.936, becoming the only Independent driver to break the 1:49 barrier. Hirobon followed 0.173s behind, while “Kentaro” completed the top three another 0.062s back.
Makio Saito qualified fourth ahead of Kentaro Kojima and Nobuhiro Imada. However, the second-best laps reversed the leading two positions for Race 2, with Hirobon taking pole ahead of Toriba. Kentaro again qualified third, followed by Saito, Kojima and Imada.
Toriba retained first place at the beginning of Race 1, but Hirobon remained directly behind and attacked on lap four. The Team 5ZIGEN driver moved to the inside and took the lead, beginning a race-long battle between the championship’s two leading contenders.
Toriba responded and reclaimed first on lap 10 after closing rapidly through consecutive 1:48 laps. However, Hirobon refused to drop away and attacked again three laps later. The two ran alongside each other before Toriba ran slightly wide, allowing Hirobon to regain the lead.
Toriba made another attempt on the final lap, but he again left the circuit while fighting Hirobon and lost momentum. Kentaro capitalised to move into second, while Imada also passed Toriba for third.
Hirobon consequently secured his third consecutive Independent Class victory in 25:37.204. Kentaro finished 1.965s behind, while Imada completed the podium another 0.916s back. Toriba had to settle for fourth after spending much of the race fighting for victory.
Toriba ends Hirobon’s winning streak
Race 2 immediately resumed the fight between Hirobon and Toriba. Hirobon started from pole, although Toriba made the better launch and drew alongside on the approach to Turn 1.
Hirobon resisted around the outside and retained first through the opening sequence. Behind them, several incidents quickly changed the order and eventually triggered the weekend’s first Independent Class Safety Car.
Ikari made contact with William between Turns 1 and 2, while Kentaro lost his front wing after contact with Saito at the Dunlop corner. Race Control deployed the Safety Car before restarting the contest at the beginning of lap four.
Shortly afterwards, officials announced that Toriba had committed a start-procedure infringement and handed him a five-second time penalty. Rather than settling for second, Toriba attacked.
He closed onto Hirobon’s gearbox and used the slipstream to take the lead at Turn 1 on lap five. From that point, Toriba needed to establish more than five seconds over Hirobon to retain victory after officials applied his penalty.
The gap stood at only 1.2s after lap five, but Toriba steadily increased it. He reached 3.7s by lap 10, 4.6s on lap 11 and finally moved beyond the critical five-second margin on lap 12.
Toriba eventually took the chequered flag 6.8s ahead on the road. After officials added his five-second penalty, he retained victory by 1.831s over Hirobon and secured his third Independent Class win of the season.
Imada inherited third following several post-race changes. Officials initially penalised Saito for repeated track-limit infringements before later disqualifying him over a technical infringement. Go Shimizu and Kojima also received five-second penalties, ultimately promoting Imada to the podium.
Independent Class title fight remains close
Hirobon scored 43 points from victory and second place to extend his championship lead, moving from 65 to 108 points.
Toriba remains his nearest challenger on 99. Although his Race 1 battle ended with fourth place, his Race 2 victory reduced the damage and keeps him only nine points behind.
Imada’s two third-place finishes lifted him to third on 56 points. Kentaro follows only two points behind after finishing second in Race 1, while Masayoshi Oyama sits fifth on 52.
Ikari remains sixth on 47 despite a difficult Fuji weekend, while Dragon follows on 38. Nakashima, Shimizu and Shoichiro Akamatsu complete the leading 10.
Team 5ZIGEN mirrors Hirobon’s 108-point total at the top of the Independent Teams’ Championship. HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing follows on 99 through Toriba’s results, while B-Max Engineering has climbed to third on 72.
Only four points separate Akiland Racing, Field Motorsport and Rn-sports in fourth through sixth, while Bionic Jack Racing remains seventh.
2026 Japanese F4 Standings after Round 3 at Fuji: Independent Class
Drivers’ Standings
- Hirobon – 108 points
- Yutaka Toriba – 99 points
- Nobuhiro Imada – 56 points
- Kentaro – 54 points
- Masayoshi Oyama – 52 points
- Ikari – 47 points
- Dragon – 38 points
- Isao Nakashima – 34 points
- Go Shimizu – 26 points
- Shoichiro Akamatsu – 24 points
Teams’ Standings
- TEAM 5ZIGEN – 108 points
- HYDRANGEA Kageyama Racing – 99 points
- B-MAX ENGINEERING – 72 points
- AKILAND RACING – 55 points
- Field Motorsport – 54 points
- Rn-sports – 51 points
- Bionic Jack Racing – 47 points
- ZAP SPEED – 26 points
- Eagle Sports – 24 points
- HELM MOTORSPORTS – 16 points
Fuji produces new Japanese F4 championship leader
Round 3 completed a remarkable turnaround for Shirasaki. He left the season-opening Fuji weekend without a point, but four consecutive victories across Okayama and Fuji have now carried him to the top of the standings.
Muto remains firmly involved after finishing second in Race 1, although his ninth place in the second contest allowed Shirasaki to establish an 11-point advantage. Behind them, Kumagai, Ryo Sakai and Igarashi remain closely matched in the fight for third.
Momose also strengthened his position as Honda’s highest-placed junior with another podium, while Megumu Suzuki finally converted his pace into a breakthrough top-three finish for Ponos Racing.
Meanwhile, Hirobon and Toriba continue to set the pace in the Independent Class. Hirobon’s third consecutive victory increased his advantage, but Toriba responded in Race 2 by overcoming a five-second penalty to end his rival’s winning streak.
Japanese F4 now heads to Suzuka with Shirasaki leading the Champion Class on 100 points and Hirobon heading the Independent Class on 108. Both championship leaders hold relatively narrow advantages, leaving the two title fights open as the season moves into its second half.
