Naoki Yamamoto (racing driver)

Naoki Yamamoto (山本尚貴, Yamamoto Naoki, born July 11, 1988) is a Japanese racing driver. He is currently driving in the Super GT and Super Formula championships. He won the Super Formula championship in 2013, 2018, and 2020, along with the Super GT championship in 2018 and 2020. In 2018, he became the first driver to win both the Super Formula and Super GT titles in the same year for 14 years; he accomplished this feat for a second time in 2020. His successes in both series has allowed him to reach the 40-point threshold required for an F1 superlicence. He drove for Toro Rosso-Honda in the first practice session of the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, completing the most laps in the session and setting a fastest lap time just 0.1s off his more experienced teammate's fastest time. The participation made him the first Japanese Formula One driver to drive a Formula One car since Kamui Kobayashi.