Nobody from Japan has won a race, yet a few of these drivers made podiums and plenty of noise. Pole-sitting is rare; being unforgettable is not.
1Kamui KobayashiFan favorite who finished on the podium at his home race in Suzuka for Sauber in 2012.1000pts
2Takuma SatoPodium finisher at the 2004 US Grand Prix who later won the Indianapolis 500 twice.591pts
3Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell driver through the mid-1990s known for his speed and a points finish in 1994.590pts
4Aguri SuzukiScored the first podium by a Japanese driver at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix.389pts
5Kazuki NakajimaWilliams driver from 2007 to 2009 and son of Satoru Nakajima.389pts
6Satoru NakajimaJapan's first full-time F1 driver, who raced for Lotus and Tyrrell from 1987 to 1991.0pts
7Yuki TsunodaHonda-backed driver who came through the Red Bull junior ranks and reached the senior team.0pts
8Taki InoueArrows driver remembered for being run over by a marshal's car at the 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix.0pts
Photo credits
- Kamui Kobayashi — Morio, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Takuma Sato — Wolkenjaeger, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ukyo Katayama — Fukumoto, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Aguri Suzuki — Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kazuki Nakajima — Marc Evans from Newbury, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Satoru Nakajima — Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yuki Tsunoda — Yu Chu Chin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Taki Inoue — keyfabe, CC BY-SA 2.0
