For years, Sho Tsuboi has been regarded as one of Super GT’s premier talents, but it was only in 2024 that the Toyota driver achieved the success in Super Formula that his talent warranted after a switch from Inging to TOM’S.
Tsuboi’s campaign, featuring three wins and seven podiums out of nine, was arguably even better than Ritomo Miyata’s run to the 2023 title.
In Super GT, Tsuboi and new TOM’S team-mate Kenta Yamashita demolished the opposition, with Tsuboi joining an exclusive club of three-time champions and becoming only the sixth ever to do the Super GT/Super Formula double.
TOM’S engineer Masaki Saeda on Sho Tsuboi’s strengths
The pressure was on Tsuboi’s shoulders when he took over Miyata’s TOM’S seat in Super Formula. But after a shaky start in the Suzuka opener, he was never off the podium apart from at Motegi, which has always been a weak track for the team.
Although there had been flashes of Tsuboi’s potential at Inging, the team was never consistent enough to fight for the title. But TOM’S race engineer Masaki Saeda was already aware of his new driver’s talents, the pair having worked together in Super GT – where Tsuboi entered the year as a two-time champion.
“Of course, he’s always had the speed, and he’s really strong in the races, especially when it comes to knowing exactly when and how to overtake,” says Saeda of Tsuboi.
“There were some difficulties at the start of the season with him moving teams, but we made a lot of progress, including the communication, and things finally went in a good direction. Getting the two wins at Fuji [in October] and building a gap in the championship was crucial.”
Unlike Miyata, who is prone to wearing his heart on his sleeve, Tsuboi radiates an image of almost zen-like calm and resilience, although after winning the Super Formula title he showed a degree of vulnerability when he described himself as “weak” mentally.
But there’s also a degree of similarity between the two drivers, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since both are very much products of the same Toyota/TOM’S ladder system.
“Ritomo sometimes had a slightly negative way of thinking, so we had to try and make him think more positively,” says Saeda. “With Tsuboi, even though he says he thinks he is not mentally strong, he never gives off that impression.
“Like Ritomo, he is very good at preparing thoroughly, looking at onboards and thinking how he can drive better. He is the kind of driver who can be entrusted with his own preparation.”
There has been no suggestion so far of Tsuboi following in the footsteps of Miyata by using his success in Japan as a springboard to a career overseas, but that isn’t to say he wouldn’t be equally capable of making his mark if handed the chance.
“I definitely think he could be successful,” says Saeda. “He said he wanted to drive a Formula 1 car, so I hope he gets the chance.”
