Sho Tsuboi made it a double Super Formula victory at Fuji on Sunday to grab the championship lead heading into the final weekend of the season next month at Suzuka.

TOM’S man Tsuboi converted his first pole of the year into another win at Fuji, giving himself a perfect record at the Toyota-owned venue in 2024 and becoming the first driver to win two races in a single weekend since Andre Lotterer in 2011.

Nirei Fukuzumi proved Tsuboi’s nearest challenger in an incident-strewn race that featured no fewer than three safety car periods, finishing second for KCMG, while Tadasuke Makino cemented second in the standings in third place.

The first caution period came on just the second lap of 41 as Iori Kimura tipped Atsushi Miyake into a spin at the Turn 10 right-hander, with Nyck de Vries also getting caught up in the melee and having to pit for a fresh front wing.

Tsuboi maintained the lead through to the second safety car period, triggered when Kazuya Oshima was sent into a spin by Yuji Kunimoto at Turn 1.

That came not long after the pit window opened and several frontrunners, including Fukuzumi, had come into the pits for their mandatory stops.

But with Tsuboi able to complete his in-lap at virtually unabated pace, he maintained the lead ahead of Fukuzumi, while Ren Sato beat Makino out of the pits to move into third.

After the restart on lap 17, Tsuboi began to eke away from Fukuzumi, but the KCMG driver kept the leader in his sights and was only a matter of tenths behind when the safety car made its final appearance on lap 32.

That followed a collision between Sena Sakaguchi and Naoki Yamamoto exiting Turn 2, which saw the front of Yamamoto’s Nakajima Racing car get airborne as he rode up on the back of Sakaguchi’s Inging machine.

Yamamoto was seen being stretchered into an ambulance and was taken to the medical centre for checks.

Tomoki Nojiri, TEAM MUGEN

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

The race resumed with just three laps left with Tsuboi heading home Fukuzumi by 1.3 seconds, while Makino was able to wrest third back off Ren Sato prior to the final safety car period.

That means he heads to next month’s Suzuka finale trailing Tsuboi by 14.5 points, with 46 on offer across the double-header weekend.

Sato still claimed his best finish of the year for Nakajima Racing in fourth, ahead of Kakunoshin Ota, who recovered well from 14th on the grid in the second Dandelion car.

Kamui Kobayashi was sixth in the second KCMG car after a late pass on Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa, the Mugen driver having started down in 12th after his best lap in qualifying was taken away for a track limits breach.

After his early dramas, de Vries recovered to finish eighth in his final outing for Team Impul, passing a fading Tomoki Nojiri (Mugen) just prior to the final caution period, while Kenta Yamashita claimed the final point for Kondo Racing in 10th

Nojiri finds himself 18.5 points down on Tsuboi after losing six places from his grid position.

Post-race Sato was handed a 10-second penalty for making contact at Turn 1 with Makino as he exited the pits, dropping him out of the points to 15th place.

It means Ota moves up to fourth ahead of Kobayashi and Iwasa.

De Vries was also stripped of his points finish for contact with Yamashita, with a five-second penalty dropping the Dutchman down to 11th.

As a result, Nojiri jumps two places to seventh ahead of Yamashita, while Iori Kimura and Toshiki Oyu are promoted into the final points positions.

Two extra points for Nojiri means he goes to the Suzuka finale 16.5 points behind Tsuboi.

Super Formula Fuji – Race 2 results (before penalties):

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The WRC2 title fight could be set for another twist following confirmation that a previously rejected protest from Oliver Solberg’s Toksport Skoda team will be reheard by Rally Chile stewards.

A petition led by FIA road sport director Andrew Wheatley has resulted in the case regarding a notional time being awarded to Solberg’s title rival and Rally Chile WRC2 winner Yohan Rossel to be reviewed.

Solberg’s Toksport Skoda team lodged a protest asking the stewards to re-evaluate a notional time awarded to Rossel that helped the Citroen driver to victory. Rossel vaulted from third to WRC2 class lead when stewards deemed Solberg had hindered the Frenchman during stage 11 and subsequently knocked 40s off his stage time.

Solberg was leading the class in the test when he suffered a puncture which cost the Swede 1m30s to change a wheel. Solberg rejoined the stage ahead of Rossel who felt he had been held up by the Skoda driver while passing through the stage affected by thick fog.

The incident is likely to play a part in determining the outcome WRC2 title as Solberg could have secured the championship with a victory in Chile.

Stewards initially deemed the protest inadmissible “because under the FIA International Sporting Code, it is not permissible for the Stewards to review/re-hear their decisions through a protest.”

However, a subsequent stewards report released on Friday states that “significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.”

Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toksport WRT Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

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The case will be re-opened and reviewed at a date yet to be announced.

“The Stewards examined video evidence and GPS tracking data provided by the FIA, which was information that was not in the possession of the Clerk of the Course, nor of the Stewards, at the time of the decision was made. The Stewards consider this to be new information,” read the stewards report.

“The FIA explained the relevance of the videos and the GPS tracking data and indicated that if this information had been available at the time the request from the Competitor of Car No. 21 for a new time was received, then a different representation would have been made to the Stewards in relation to the Competitor’s request on SS11 (Lota 2). The Stewards consider the FIA’s submission to be significant and relevant.

“Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards decide to re-examine their decision in accordance with Article 14.1.1 of the 2024 FIA International Sporting Code and wish to hear from the parties concerned, namely the Competitor of Car No. 21 and a representative of the FIA, at a time and place to be determined thereafter.”

Solberg currently leads the WRC2 championship standings by 12 points over Rossel, but will now have to rely on results elsewhere to keep his title hopes alive having completed his seven points-scoring events.

Rossel and Sami Pajari (15 points adrift of Solberg) remain in title contention with the pair set to complete their final rounds at the Central European Rally and Rally Japan respectively.

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Formula 1 can be a turbulent ride at times, but for Williams boss James Vowles the 2024 season has been extreme.

From starting the year with an overweight challenger, having no spare car early on, winning the race for Carlos Sainz‘s services, dropping Logan Sargeant and then becoming a hero in Argentina because of Franco Colapinto‘s brilliant form. It has been hard to keep up with it all.

Bouncing between these highs and lows may have left even Vowles struggling to catch his breath, but he is equally not a person who lets emotional swings get to him.

He well knows that he has been employed by Williams to help get the team back towards the front of the grid. And, while the Grove-based outfit has had some good days in the sun so far this year, he accepts there is still an awful long way to go before he can feel he is anywhere near accomplishing his mission.

“When I’m asked the question, are you happy with the first half of the season? You go ‘clearly not’,” Vowles told Motorsport.com.

“We had so much potential and performance in the car that we didn’t utilise, and that’s frustrating. But my head is that everything is just stepping stones towards the long-term goal. That’s how I see things.

Alex Albon, Williams FW46

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“Carlos is a fantastic addition, but he is just one of 1000 things that we need to do on our path towards going back towards the front.

“It’s the same as adding performance to the car and tangibly demonstrating to ourselves, not the world, that we are able to develop a car successfully against what is a very fierce field now.

“So, because I have that grounding of ’26, ’27 and just trying to get some fundamentals in place, you detach yourself from anything that you’re doing at that stage.

“It sounds odd, but it gives you the grounding you need, not to get carried away with the highs and lows of it all, because there’s plenty.”

Dropping Sargeant was ‘tough’

Perhaps the most difficult moment for Vowles came after the Dutch Grand Prix when he had to make the call to drop Sargeant.

With the American having not made the progress that had been hoped for against Alex Albon, a hefty crash with a newly updated car on Saturday morning in Zandvoort proved to be the final straw.

Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing, James Vowles, Williams Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Williams

While some individuals in the F1 paddock may revel in the opportunity of getting rid of people, Vowles admits it was not easy for him.

“I knew what came with the job when I chose to do it, but if you look up and down the grid, there’s very few team principals that ever changed their driver halfway through the year,” he said. “It is tough to do.

“But what I’m driven by is openness and honesty. Logan knew long before that point that he was at risk, and he knew what his targets were.

“I preferred to lay it down in a really raw way: ‘Here’s where you’re not performing at a level we need to, and that’s in your hands. I’ll help you as much as possible. But if we don’t get there, this is where we will make changes.’

“So as a result of that, I’m comfortable with myself, that I gave every opportunity that I could with Logan, and supported him in that opportunity at the same time.

“But my responsibility isn’t to one individual in this team, it’s to 1000 people that are here every weekend day in and day out.”

Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing

Photo by: Williams

The Colapinto impact

While dropping a driver is never nice, Vowles would probably admit that he could never have imagined Sargeant’s replacement Colapinto doing so well.

The Argentinian seemed instantly at home in F1 machinery and, after just missing out on the points in Italy, his eighth place in Baku drew massive praise from up and down the pitlane.

Vowles sees parallels to what has happened to Colapinto to his own journey through F1.

“I was a graduate 30 years ago,” said Vowles. “Someone trusted me and gave me opportunity all the way through my career, and I’m here today.

“Franco was someone I’ve known even before he joined Williams. He had no practice, jumped in the car, and did what he could with it.

“He’s bloody quick, deserved a chance, and I could see something that the rest of the world couldn’t see. He’s delivered on that, and it is a feel good factor. It really is.”

Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Vowles also thinks that the story of giving a youngster like Colapinto a chance is one that stands true for bringing the next generation of talent through at Williams.

“At my core and Williams’ core, and that is why we align so well, is investing in future generations,” added Vowles. “Franco epitomises that fundamentally.

“We’re doing the same within the factory with brilliant graduates that we’re pushing through the organisation and giving opportunity to.

“It’s rewarding because that’s really at the core of what I want. I want future generations to not push me out of my role, but challenge me to the level where I have to let go of the reins of something I have a responsibility for.”

That Schumacher remark

It is not just on track where Vowles has been in the spotlight though, because he has learned some tough lessons off it too.

Perhaps one of the biggest came at the Italian Grand Prix when Vowles found himself at the centre of a media frenzy after he made a remark about Mick Schumacher that grabbed the headlines.

Mick Schumacher, Reserve Driver, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

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Speaking about the decision to bring in rookie Colapinto rather than more experienced options like Schumacher, Vowles said: “I think we have to be straightforward about this. Mick isn’t special, he would just be good.“

The fallout of his ‘not special’ remark was quite extreme, and Vowles quickly realised his phrasing had not been great – which is why he apologised to Schumacher and his family.

Looking back at events now, Vowles admits it taught him a good lesson in being more careful in what he says.

“It’s difficult because that one for me, that’s clearly not what I meant, which is why I went and immediately apologised to him, his family and everyone around it,” he said.

“I was devastated at the time, because it showed me the power of a few words, and that I have to be far more diligent in what I’m doing and how I’m saying it.

“It was a learning lesson that I hope stays with me forever.”

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