Ritomo Miyata – A Known Unknown - Everything Trackside

There are three types of drivers in Formula 2. First are the rookies who want to come in and establish themselves all guns blazing. Second are the returning drivers who have a point to prove. And third are the unknowns.

After a tumultuous inaugural F2 Season in 2024 that was as brutal as it was epic, we’re left pondering over some questions about those drivers that are returning for 2025. For a driver that’s only twenty-five years old, Ritomo Miyata has a long history of racing behind him that’s spread between single seater racing and endurance racing. It’s what makes him fascinating as we approach a new season of racing. In 2025, Ritomo Miyata switches from being a rookie to a returning driver. But despite having a full season under his belt, we still don’t know what to expect from the Japanese driver. Therefore, in 2025, Ritomo Miyata is a known unknown. Let’s explore what this means.

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Origins

Ritomo Miyata made his Formula 4 Japan debut ten years ago in 2015. Despite only competing in the final six races of the season, Miyata was able to get onto the podium on one occasion at Autopolis. He went on to win the next two seasons of the Championship. He then graduated to Japanese Formula 3 where he finished in P4 in his debut campaign. Miyata finished in second place for his second and third seasons before moving up to Super Formula. After a few seasons competing there, Miyata climbed to the top and won the Championship in 2023. His lowest race result that season was P5, where he finished once.

During this time period, Miyata raced in Super Formula Lights – which he won – and in Super GT, which he also won in 2023.

All of this built to Miyata making his true debut on the international stage when he was promoted to race in Formula 2 for Rodin Motorsport in 2024.

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Formula 2 – Starting Strong

Ritomo Miyata was a known unknown rookie coming into his debut season. All eyes were on Ritomo, but none were quite sure what to expect. His strong past was behind him but it was also clear that he sometimes needed time to develop in a category of racing before he could truly fly.

In his first race in Bahrain, Miyata was one place away from scoring points. The following day at the conclusion of the Feature Race, Miyata had matched his result from the previous day and this time, was able to secure two championship points for his efforts.

Jeddah was a particularly chaotic affair. While some drivers were able to use this to their advantage, Miyata was not. Jeddah is a high speed, technical circuit that has seen plenty of incidents during its short lifespan so far. One small mistake could send you tumbling down the order or out of the race entirely. In 2024 alone, it caught out both Championship contenders Bortoleto and Hadjar, with both DNFing in the Feature Race. It also caught out Franco Colapinto who likewise retired from that race. Understandably, there weren’t many hard feeling towards Miyata as a result of this. At least he managed to finish both races. Sometimes in motorsport, finishing the race is enough.

Australia would prove to be Miyata’s best weekend of the season with the Japanese driver finishing in P5 in both races. The circuit and the car agreed with him and Miyata was able to utilise both of these as well as the opportunities presented to him during the races. Who would have predicted that his worst result in Super Formula would prove to be his best to date in Formula 2? That’s motorsport for you.

After the opening three rounds, Miyata was inside the top ten of the Driver’s Standings. He was just eight points behind future Mercedes F1 Driver, Kimi Antonelli.

Character Building

However, after this, the rest of the season would prove to be quite tough for Miyata. Imola and Monaco would prove to be difficult events. Miyata finished outside of the points in all four races. He was only able to finish as high as P13 during this stint.

The Japanese driver returned to the points in Spain when he finished in P7 in the Sprint Race. He also collected the fastest lap of the race. But an unfortunate drought followed. Miyata didn’t score any points in Austria. This was made worse as this included his first DNF of the season in the Feature Race. Silverstone also turned out to be a pointless affair for him.

It wasn’t until Formula 2 arrived in Budapest just before the summer break that Miyata would be able to prove some of his critics wrong. Starting in P18 for the Feature Race following a poor qualifying session, Miyata went on a charge. He made up ten places over the course of the race – the most overtakes by any driver in that race. The driver that people knew was inside him was rearing his head. His P8 finish here was his best result since Spain. Another points finish would follow with a P7 in the Feature Race at Spa.

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Not Giving Up

These flourishes of potential were not a sign of a turnaround though. They would be the last points that Miyata would score until the end of the season. Monza was another race weekend for him where he wouldn’t score points, only able to finish as high as P13. In the Sprint Race in Baku, Miyata crashed into the barriers at T3. Like Jeddah, Baku is a challenging and unforgiving street circuit. That will have been a tough result to swallow, given his recent performances, but Miyata will also have learnt a valuable lesson and gained crucial experience. On social media, he reiterated time and again that it was all part of the learning process and that he wouldn’t let the negative results get him down, nor would he give up.

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At the final two race weekends of the year in Qatar and Abu Dhabi respectively, Miyata was able to finish in P10 once at each circuit. This added two more points to his overall tally, bringing him to thirty one. This meant he was level on points with Juan Manuel Correa but lost out on countback thanks to Correa’s podium in Spain.

All the while though, Miyata was determined to not let the difficult results define him. This wasn’t the first time he’d had a baptism of fire in a new championship. In Super GT, it took him a few seasons to get up to speed before he went on to win the title there. The same can be said of Super Formula where he needed a couple of years before claiming the championship. This pattern is what makes Ritomo Miyata a known unknown. Nothing is guaranteed but you’re certain that at some point, he’ll deliver.

European Le Mans Series

It is also worth noting that in 2024, Ritomo Miyata was not just racing in Formula 2. He was also competing full time in the European Le Mans Series for Cool Racing. This is obviously a very different style of racing compared to single seaters. Sometimes driving in two different disciplines can have unpredictable advantages. But it can also be difficult to switch from one to the other and excel. For Miyata, ELMS was where he thrived in 2024.

Racing in the ELMS, Miyata and the team managed to win both the season opener in Spain and the season finale in Portugal. They also finished P3 overall in the Championship in the LMP2 category.

He also raced in the World Endurance Championship just prior to his F2 duties in Imola. This time, he raced at Spa where he and his LMGT3 team finished in P10. In terms of establishing himself on the international stage, when it came to endurance racing, Miyata got the job done.

Ritomo Miyata – a Known Unknown in 2025?

What can we expect from Ritomo Miyata in 2025? It’s difficult to say for certain because while predictions are very easy to make, truly anything can happen in the world of motorsport, particularly Formula 2. Every venue on the calendar was on the 2024 edition so Ritomo will have had experience at each of them. That doesn’t guarantee success but it does imply that rookie mistakes will be avoided and the finer parts of his race craft can be honed in on.

We’ve got nine rookies on the Formula 2 grid for 2025. We’ve got a further ten drivers, including Miyata, with at least one season behind them. We also have three more seats to fill at the time of writing. All eleven teams are competitive too. This means that, like last year, the margins between success and failure will be incredibly slim. Forming opinions on a drivers’ performance based off timesheets and results alone at the end of the race will not tell the entire story.

For Ritomo though, it’s not unreasonable to believe that over the course of the season, we’ll see an improvement from him when compared to last season. Stronger qualifying times and more finishes inside the points will be the aim of the game. This is a driver who historically has improved the longer he’s stayed in a category. As it stands, there’s no reason to think that the same won’t happen this time around. It’s what makes Miyata a known unknown and therefore so hard to predict.

Is Miyata Championship Material?

There are three types of champion in Formula 2. These are drivers like Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto who come in and win the title immediately in their first season. There are those, like Mick Schumacher, who need a season to bed themselves in before going on to win in their second year. And there are those, like Felipe Drugovich, who need three seasons – arguably the longest you want to spend in Formula 2 if you hope to win the title and graduate to Formula 1 – to put together everything they’ve learned and take their best shot at the title without leaving anything on the table.

For 2025 however, Miyata is primarily in the second while also still being a little bit of an unknown. We know he’s capable of more, as demonstrated by his time in other categories. But is he a Championship contender?

Mick Schumacher finished in twelfth in his first season before winning the title. Drugovich finished eighth the year before his successful bid for the Championship. So while P19 in Miyata’s first year may make the leap to a championship that bit more unrealistic, expecting a significant improvement towards it shouldn’t be out of the question.

Will we see Ritimo Miyata in Formula 1?

Formula 2 has also been a Championship where, curiously, winning the title doesn’t guarantee you a seat in Formula 1. However, finishing in one of the runner up spots turns out to be enough to catapult you into the highest echelon of motorsport. Will we see Ritomo Miyata in Formula 1? Being a Toyota Gazoo Driver meant that, thanks to their technical partnership, he was able take part in Haas’ private test in Jerez earlier this year with Bearman and Ocon.

While it’s unlikely that either of these drivers will depart the team anytime soon, we could yet see Miyata at Haas. If Miyata performs in 2025, he could become a Reserve Driver for them in 2026. He could then still compete elsewhere that year with an eye at claiming a seat with the American outfit for 2027. As you’ve no doubt been able to tell, when it comes to Miyata’s future, it’s tricky to be sure of anything.

Ritomo Miyata – A Known Unknown

In the high-pressure world of Formula 2 where every driver is theoretically one heartbeat away from competing in the pinnacle of motorsport, it can be easy to become overlooked quickly. Teams, fans and sponsors can be especially ruthless, particularly when looking for the next Max Verstappen or Oscar Piastri. But just because a driver doesn’t perform immediately, doesn’t mean that there isn’t an exceptional driver within them.

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Ritomo Miyata is one of these drivers. As we’ve seen, over time, Miyata does deliver results and win championships. But the higher up the food chain you rise, the more cutthroat it becomes. As a driver, you need to hunt or be hunted. In 2025, Miyata needs to take out those ahead of him and throw them to the hungry pack behind – or risk getting left behind.

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