Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Ritomo Miyata has committed to a third season in Formula 2 next year, and will spend it with Hitech GP.
The Toyota protege moved to F2 in 2024 after four years racing at single-seaters’ top level in his home country Japan’s Super Formula championship. He was 2023 champion, and making it to Formula 1 then became his and Toyota’s aim.
Toyota Gazoo Racing will move closer to that goal for itself in 2026, building on partnerships established last year. The first was a technical alliance with the Haas F1 team which began in October 2024, then two months later Hitech added TGR to its name as it entered a partnership with Toyota’s motorsport division. Haas’s title sponsor will be TGR in 2026.
Both deals have included driver development elements, which led to Miyata doing F1 tests with Haas this year and his sophomore F2 campaign being supported by the Hitech and TGR collaboration despite racing for rival team ART Grand Prix.
Miyata’s rookie F2 season was spent with Rodin Motorsport, and he came 19th in the standings with 31 points and with two fifth places in Melbourne as his best race results. With ART GP he scored one less point but climbed two places in the standings, and made the feature race podium at Spa-Francorchamps as his team had an unexpectedly uncompetitive year.
“I’m really excited to be joining Hitech for the 2026 F2 season,” said the 26-year-old.
“My first campaigns in F2 have been invaluable for my development, allowing me to gain experience with the cars, tyres, and circuits, and to refine my racecraft against some of the strongest young drivers in the world.
“Hitech has proven itself as one of the most competitive and professional teams in F2, and I’m confident it’s the perfect environment to continue developing, challenge at the front, and deliver consistent results every weekend. I’m also grateful to [Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda], TGR and everyone who has supported me on this journey. My goal is to keep improving, achieve podiums and strong race results, and continue pushing toward the highest level of this sport.”
Miyata won the Japanese Formula 4 and Super Formula Lights titles on his initial route up the single-seater ladder, won Japan’s premier sportscar championship Super GT in 2023 and came third in the 2024 European Le Mans Series.
Haas’s testing of previous cars programme has primarily involved running Toyota-linked drivers, including Miyata, and next year it will be called the ‘TGR Haas Driver Development Programme’. It is seperate to Haas’s support of young drivers.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ritomo to the team for 2026,” Hitech’s F2 team manager Clive Hatton said.
“He’s already proven his quality in F2 and brings a championship-winning background from Japan that adds further depth to our exciting new driver line-up. With Colton Herta joining from IndyCar and Ritomo continuing to build on two strong F2 campaigns, this pairing combines experience, adaptability, and great potential.”