Age: 17
Nationality: Japanese
Home town: Tokyo
Racing hero: Max Verstappen
Hobbies: Cooking and housework
Favourite sports: Swimming and tennis
Greatest influence: Yuki Tsunoda's driving in F1 increased my desire to race in F1
Career goal: World champion
Random fact: I can't wait for summer because I want to swim in the ocean!
Red Bull Junior Team driver Souta Arao moves up to GB3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight for the 2023 season.
The 17-year-old Japanese racer, who is also a member of Honda's junior programme, most recently competed in the French F4 Championship in 2022, winning three races and taking seven additional podium finishes on his way to third overall. His victories came with impressive drives at Pau, Spa-Francorchamps and Paul Ricard in his first season of single-seater racing.
Prior to his F4 debut, Arao was the winner of the Suzuka Racing School Formula scholarship, having been selected by former F1 driver and double Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato and fellow ex F1 racer Shinji Nakano as the best performer.
He was also a front-runner in the Japanese Karting Championship, finishing as runner-up in 2021, with his performances leading him to be signed into the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) from the 2022 season onwards.
Career history
2022
French F4 - third overall with three wins and seven additional podiums
2021
Japanese Karting Championship - runner-up
