Slowly but surely, Ritomo Miyata continues his apprenticeship in F2

It is one of the new features, which is more pleasant, of this 2024 season of Formula 2. He doesn't make as much noise as Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Prema), some of whom already see him in F1. He nonetheless remains a very good pilot, as his CV shows. “He” responds to the name Ritomo Miyata when called.

A newcomer to the Old Continent and a rookie in the Formula 1 lobby at the age of 24, the native of Zushi is preparing to take on a whole new challenge. Always a delicate passage for a driver coming from the land of the Rising Sun, where the way of doing things is different. Theo Pourchaire, who left for Super Formula this year, recently told us about this change in atmosphere.

No rush for Ritomo Miyata

If he arrived with the Super Formula-Super GT double in his pocket, the protégé of Toyota had to leave it aside for this new adventure. We had to start from scratch with a completely different approach to acclimatize to the “internationalization” of this championship, having always been accustomed to national games.

« For me, each round is a first for me, he summed up after Australia this weekend where he discovered a third circuit in a row after Bahrain and Jeddah. I have never been to these tracks and I have no experience with Pirelli tires, driving F2, with European teams… So everything is new for me on this point.

For now, it's about learning from each situation. I obviously want to achieve good results but for the moment I am focusing on learning. No need to hurry, step by step."

© Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

Patience is therefore the watchword for Ritomo Miyata when debriefing his first three F2 outings of the year. On the track, you can feel it. Every weekend, the Japanese progresses. Sometimes struggling a little more in qualifying, he manages to balance things out in the race where his pace helps him move up the hierarchy. In Melbourne for example, he couldn't do better than 12^e on both grids but made up for it with two 5s^e squares.

A result which can also be explained by the support of Rodin. Behind him, the Japanese can rely on the experience of his team (ex-Carlin) to refine his acclimatization to F2 and who does not intend to put pressure on him. “ I really want to thank the team, he recognized poles apart. She works very hard for me every round. We started 12^e of the two races last weekend and we managed to climb back into the Top 5 with points up for grabs. » This is perhaps the recipe for a successful transition from the Rising Sun to the Old Continent: excellent complementarity between the two camps to progress together. There is often strength in unity.

ALSO READ > Isack Hadjar takes his revenge with a victory in Melbourne: “It was hard to accept”