Souta Arao

The native form of this personal name is Arao Sōta. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Souta Arao
Arao in 2022
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (2005-12-18) 18 December 2005 (age 19)
Tokyo, Japan
Super Formula Lights career
Debut season2024
Current teamToda Racing
Car number2
Starts9
Wins0
Podiums2
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finishTBD in 2024
Previous series
2023
2022		GB3 Championship
French F4 Championship

Souta Arao (荒尾創大, Arao Sōta, born 18 December 2005) is a Japanese racing driver who is currently competing in the 2024 Super Formula Lights for Toda Racing. He previously competed in the French F4 Championship & GB3 Championship.[1] He is a scholar of the Honda Racing School which formerly as Suzuka Racing School,[2] and part of the Honda Formula Dream Project.

Career

Karting

Arao started karting in 2012.[3] In 2021 he became OK vice-champion in the All Japan Kart Championship.[4]

Formula 4

Arao made his single-seater debut in 2022, competing in the French F4 Championship.[5][6] He started his season in strong fashion, getting a podium in the season opener at Nogaro and finishing fifth in Race 3.[7] More success came at the following round in Pau, where, having taken pole position and finished second in the first race, Arao achieved his first victory in car racing on Sunday, beating out championship leader Hugh Barter.[8] The next four rounds yielded a podium each, with a highest result of second at Spa-Francorchamps, before he won Race 1 at the season finale in Le Castellet.[9][10][11] He ended up third in the standings, four places ahead of fellow Red Bull Junior Yuto Nomura.[12]

GB3 Championship

For the 2023 season, it was announced that Arao would move up to the GB3 Championship, driving for Hitech Grand Prix alongside Alex Dunne and Michael Shin.[13][14] Throughout the season Arao struggled to achieve good results. His best race results were two fifth places in the final two round at Circuit Zandvoort and Donington Park, which moved him up to 17th in the standings.[15][16]

Super Formula Lights

Arao returns to Japan for 2024, as he will race in Super Formula Lights with Toda Racing.[17]

Red Bull Junior Team

Arao was a member of the Red Bull Junior Team[3][18] He was part of the academy from 2022 until the end of 2023.[citation needed]

Racing record

Arao driving at Magny Cours in 2022.

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2022 French F4 Championship FFSA Academy 21 2 1 2 9 227 3rd
2023 GB3 Championship Hitech Grand Prix 21 0 0 1 0 146 17th
2024 Super Formula Lights Toda Racing 18 0 0 1 4 43 7th
Super Taikyu - ST-Q Team HRC

Complete French F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points
2022 NOG
1
2 		NOG
2
9 		NOG
3
5 		PAU
1
2 		PAU
2
20† 		PAU
3
1 		MAG
1
3 		MAG
2
5 		MAG
3
Ret 		SPA
1
4 		SPA
2
5 		SPA
3
2 		LÉD
1
3 		LÉD
2
9 		LÉD
3
7 		CRT
1
3 		CRT
2
7 		CRT
3
18 		LEC
1
1 		LEC
2
9 		LEC
3
2 		3rd 227

Complete GB3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2023 Hitech Grand Prix OUL
1
Ret 		OUL
2
6 		OUL
3
157 		SIL1
1
Ret 		SIL1
2
Ret 		SIL1
3
WD 		SPA
1
13 		SPA
2
Ret 		SPA
3
132 		SNE
1
8 		SNE
2
10 		SNE
3
22 		SIL2
1
13 		SIL2
2
18 		SIL2
3
C 		BRH
1
DNS 		BRH
2
14 		BRH
3
Ret 		ZAN
1
5 		ZAN
2
9 		ZAN
3
173 		DON
1
5 		DON
2
13 		DON
3
154 		17th 146

Complete Super Formula Lights results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Points
2024 Toda Racing AUT
1
7 		AUT
2
7 		AUT
3
7 		SUG
1
6 		SUG
2
2 		SUG
3
7 		FUJ
1
4 		FUJ
2
3 		FUJ
3
6 		OKA
1
6 		OKA
2
6 		OKA
3
5 		SUZ
1
2 		SUZ
2
5 		SUZ
3
2 		MOT
1
4 		MOT
2
5 		MOT
3
7 		7th 43

* Season still in progress.

References

  1. ^ Allen, Peter (23 September 2021). "French F4 reveals 22 drivers entered to race new car in 2022". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  2. ^ Wood, Ida (28 November 2021). "Takuma Sato chooses two Suzuka Racing School scholars for 2022". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Souta Arao". Red Bull. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Souta Arao". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ Wolff, Perceval (14 April 2022). "Your season guide to the 2022 French F4 Championship". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Red Bull will also have talents in French Formula 4 from 2022 onwards". www.gpblog.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Yuto Nomura and Souta Arao star in French F4 opener at Nogaro". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Brilliant Victory for Souta Arao in Pau F4". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Souta Arao grabs second in French F4 at Spa". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Souta Arao gets a podium in French F4 at Lédenon". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Arao & Nomura in the heat of Valencia French F4 action". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Arao wins in French F4 final in Paul Ricard". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Ayumu Iwasa remains with DAMS for second F2 season". www.motorsport.com. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  14. ^ Wood, Ida (18 January 2023). "Arao and Montoya finally confirmed in their GB3 and F3 seats for 2023". Formula Scout. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Arao takes 5th in Race 1". Honda.Racing. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Arao finishes 5th in Race 1 and 17th in the s..." Honda.Racing. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Honda 2024 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Red Bull will also have talents in French Formula 4 from 2022 onwards". GPBlog. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.