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Kazuki Nakajima | |
|---|---|
中嶋 一貴 | |
.jpg) Nakajima at the2012 6 Hours of Fuji | |
| Born | (1985-01-11)11 January 1985 (age 40) Okazaki, Aichi, Japan |
| Employers | |
| Title | Vice-Chairman |
| Parent | Satoru Nakajima (father) |
| Relatives | Daisuke Nakajima (brother) |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Racing licence |  FIA Platinum |
| Years active | 2012–2021 |
| Teams | Toyota |
| Starts | 59 |
| Championships | 1 (2018–19) |
| Wins | 17 |
| Podiums | 36 |
| Poles | 10 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Best finish | 1st in2018–19 (LMP1) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Active years | 2007–2009 |
| Teams | Williams |
| Entries | 36 (36 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 9 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| Super Formula career | |
| Years active | 2011–2021 |
| Teams | TOM'S |
| Starts | 73 |
| Championships | 2 (2012,2014) |
| Wins | 9 |
| Podiums | 31 |
| Poles | 5 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 2012–2021 |
| Teams | Toyota |
| Best finish | 1st(2018,2019,2020) |
| Class wins | 3(2018,2019,2020) |
| Previous series | |
| Championship titles | |
| 2003 | Formula Toyota |
Kazuki Nakajima (Japanese:中嶋 一貴,Hepburn:Nakajima Kazuki; born 11 January 1985) is a Japanesemotorsport executive and formerracing driver, who competed inFormula One from2007 to2009. InJapanese motorsport, Nakajima won theSuper Formula Championship in2012 and2014 withTOM'S.[b] Inendurance racing, Nakajima won the2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, and is athree-time winner of the24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won consecutively from2018 to2020, all withToyota. Since 2022, Nakajima has served as vice-chairman of Toyota in WEC, winning three consecutiveWorld Manufacturers' Championship titles from2022 to2024.
Kazuki Nakajima was born on 11 January 1985 inOkazaki, Aichi, Japan.[1] Nakajima is the son of the retired Formula One driverSatoru Nakajima. His younger brother,Daisuke, is also a racing driver.[2] Nakajima started his career in racing in 1996, when he startedkarting. Three years later, he was crowned the Suzuka Formula ICA karting champion. After some impressive performances, Nakajima was picked up by Japanese car manufacturerToyota as part of the corporation'sYoung Drivers Program.
His father had been backed by Toyota's arch-rivalsHonda through his career. Nakajima hoped that by joining Toyota he would shield himself against any accusations that his father had promoted his career.[3]
In 2002, Nakajima won a scholarship in Formula Toyota, which he became champion in a year later. He progressed ontoJapanese Formula Three in 2004, winning two of the 20 races and finishing fifth in the Drivers' Championship.
Nakajima stayed in Japanese Formula Three for 2005, finishing second. He dovetailed that championship with appearances in the Japanese GT300 sports car series, where he ended the year eighth.[3]
Nakajima moved to theFormula Three Euroseries in 2006 and competed against the likes ofSebastian Vettel andPaul di Resta. After starting the year strongly with second place in the first race and a win in round four, Nakajima finished seventh with 36 points, behind hisManor Motorsport teammatesKohei Hirate (third) andEsteban Guerrieri (fourth). The championship was won by di Resta with 86 points.
In November 2006, Nakajima was named aWilliams test driver for the2007 season, alongside fellow test driverNarain Karthikeyan and race driversNico Rosberg andAlexander Wurz, targeting a race seat in2008.[4] Nakajima's debut in a Formula One car came atFuji Speedway during November 2006, where he completed four demonstration laps in wet conditions.[5]
Nakajima raced in theGP2 series in2007 for theDAMS team alongsideFrench2005–06 A1 Grand Prix winnerNicolas Lapierre. Nakajima also served as Williams' test driver, completing 7,000 km of testing for the team.[6]
Nakajima's first year in GP2 finished with no wins, but five consecutive podiums and ended the year as top rookie. Nakajima's fifth in the championship put him comfortably ahead of Lapierre. Nakajima was found to have caused a collision in Istanbul, when he hit leaderKarun Chandhok during the sprint race, and was given a drive-through penalty.[7]
It was announced on 9 October 2007 that following the retirement ofAlexander Wurz, Nakajima would race for Williams in the season finale inBrazil.[8] Nakajima finished tenth in the race, setting the fifth fastest lap – quicker than his teammateNico Rosberg, who finished fourth.
At his first pit stop, Nakajima overshot his box and hit two of his mechanics. The mechanics were taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Nakajima apologised for the error: "First of all I would say I'm really sorry that some of my mechanics were injured during my pitstop and that I hope they're OK. It was a good first race for me but it was slightly overshadowed."
Patrick Head commented: "Kazuki drove well on his debut. His lap times were impressive and he's set a marker for a future in Formula One. Some of our mechanics were injured today, they're having some checks done now and we send our best wishes to them."[9]
On 7 November it was confirmed by Williams that Nakajima would partner Rosberg at the Williams team for the 2008 season.[10] He had a successful start to 2008 at theAustralian Grand Prix, finishing seventh but promoted to sixth afterRubens Barrichello was disqualified, even whilst knockingRobert Kubica out of the race and being penalised. He then finished seventh in theSpanish Grand Prix, having outqualified his teammate. A first-corner incident withGiancarlo Fisichella atIstanbul forced him to retire. Nakajima scored two points atMonaco where no Japanese Formula One driver had previously scored a point,[11] and retired from the2008 Canadian Grand Prix after hitting the pit wall when pitting for a new front wing. Nakajima scored another point at the2008 British Grand Prix, after losing seventh place on the last lap. InSingapore, Nakajima made it to the third qualifying round for the first time qualifying 10th on the grid. He went on to finish eighth and scored a point.
Nakajima was retained by Williams for the 2009 season. At the2009 Australian Grand Prix he crashed into the wall at turn six, putting him out of the race. Nakajima was the only driver to retire at Bahrain, stopping five laps before the end with overheated oil. He also crashed on the penultimate lap of theMonaco Grand Prix whilst running in 10th place. He came close to scoring at several Grands Prix, including losing a points finish after being delayed in the pit lane at theTurkish Grand Prix. At theBritish Grand Prix, Nakajima secured his highest ever Formula One grid slot, qualifying in an impressive fifth place ahead of world championship leaderJenson Button. However, his race was compromised by poor pit strategy, and he eventually finished outside the points. Nakajima once again nearly scored at theHungarian Grand Prix, finishing just 0.7 seconds behind eighth placeJarno Trulli. He finished ninth again inSingapore. AtBrazil Nakajima was once again in contention for points until being taken out by rookie and fellow countrymanKamui Kobayashi. Nakajima finished the season having scored no points, with his teammate Nico Rosberg being single-handedly responsible for every championship point scored by the Williams team, with Nakajima being the only non points scorer out of the drivers who took part in each race in 2009.
Williams signedRubens Barrichello andNico Hülkenberg for 2010, leaving Nakajima without a seat. However, in January, reports tied Nakajima to teamStefan GP, which had consolidated remnants of theToyota F1 team after the Japanese manufacturer's withdrawal from the sport in late 2009. Stefan duly confirmed on 19 February 2010 that Nakajima was one of the team's drivers,[2][12] although the team did not have an entry to the 2010 Formula One season. TheFIA subsequently ruled that Stefan GP could not be entered for the season at such a late stage, so Nakajima was left with no drive in Formula One for 2010.
After a successful test in late 2010, Nakajima moved back to the Japanese racing scene by competing inFormula Nippon for2011. Driving for theTOM'S team, he won his first race at the second round of the season, held atAutopolis, which also moved him into the lead of the drivers' standings. He ultimately finished runner-up toAndré Lotterer. He continued in the series for the2012 season winning the title. In the2013 season he could not defend his Super Formula title finishing 4th overall. However, in the2014 season he regained the title with hisPetronas Team TOM'S team. In the2015 season he ended up 2nd overall.
His younger brother,Daisuke, competed in the series until 2017.
Nakajima first competed in the JapaneseSuper GT series in2005, driving aToyota MR-S in the GT300 class withMinoru Tanaka. He returned to the category in2011, driving aLexus SC430 in the GT500 class with Formula Nippon rival Lotterer. For2012 he continued to drive a SC430, now partnered withLoïc Duval. In 2013 he partnered withJames Rossiter, scoring two wins and a third-place finish to rank third in the drivers standings. In 2014 he drove aLexus RC F with Rossiter, winning two races.
The driver returned to the Japanese Super GT in 2017 with a TOM'sLexus LC.
In 2012, Nakajima was selected by Toyota to be one of the drivers for its assault on the24 Hours of Le Mans race and theFIA World Endurance Championship, driving the prototypeToyota TS030 Hybrid. At Le Mans, he hit the NissanDeltaWing hard enough to knock it off the circuit, causing substantial damage to the Nissan, and significant damage to his own car — neither car finished the race. He finished runner-up at the2012 6 Hours of Silverstone. At the2012 6 Hours of Fuji, Nakajima took pole position for Toyota before triple stinting in the race to bring home the TS030's second win in competition and Nakajima's first with the team.
Nakajima continued as Toyota LMP1 part-time driver the next two seasons. He won the2013 6 Hours of Fuji, a race cancelled with no laps under green flag. In 2014 he finished second at Silverstone, Fuji and Shanghai.
Nakajima became a Toyota LMP1 full-time driver for the2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, scoring a third place at Silverstone as best result. In 2016 he scored a third-place finish at Shanghai.
Nakajima began the2017 season with two wins at Silverstone and Spa.
Nakajima won the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours race in the #8 Toyota, along with Fernando Alonso and Sébastian Buemi.
Nakajima, Buemi and Alonso then repeated the achievement in 2019, at the same time clinching the2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, making Nakajima the second Japanese FIA world champion afterToshi Arai.[13]
Nakajima retired from racing after the2021 FIA World Endurance Championship to take on the role of vice-chairman atToyota Gazoo Racing Europe, withRyō Hirakawa taking over his seat.[14]
‡ Team standings
| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | TOM'S | Dallara F304 | 9th | DNF | 13th |
| 2005 | TOM'S | Dallara F305 | 8th | 7th | 5th |
| 2006 |  Manor Motorsport | Dallara F305 | 8th | 8th | DNF |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 1 1 | SUZ 2 1 | TSU 1 7 | TSU 2 9 | OKA 1 3 | OKA 2 6 | MOT 1 6 | MOT 2 Ret | SUZ 1 6 | SUZ 2 Ret | SUG 1 4 | SUG 2 Ret | MIN 1 9 | MIN 2 11 | SEN 1 5 | SEN 2 5 | MIN 1 4 | MIN 2 3 | MOT 1 9 | MOT 2 4 | 5th | 138 |
| 2005 | TOM'S | Toyota | MOT 1 Ret | MOT 2 Ret | SUZ 1 3 | SUZ 2 3 | SUG 1 4 | SUG 2 3 | FUJ 1 2 | FUJ 2 2 | OKA 1 4 | OKA 2 8 | SUZ 1 2 | SUZ 2 5 | MIN 1 1 | MIN 2 1 | FUJ 1 2 | FUJ 2 2 | MIN 1 Ret | MIN 2 2 | MOT 1 3 | MOT 2 Ret | 2nd | 209 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Manor Motorsport | Dallara F305/062 | Mercedes | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 6 | LAU 1 8 | LAU 2 1 | OSC 1 6 | OSC 2 5 | BRH 1 14 | BRH 2 13 | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 5 | NÜR 1 9 | NÜR 2 18 | ZAN 1 22 | ZAN 2 3 | CAT 1 4 | CAT 2 3 | BUG 1 11 | BUG 2 7 | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 DNS | 7th | 36 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | DAMS | BHR FEA 17 | BHR SPR 6 | CAT FEA 15 | CAT SPR 7 | MON FEA 10 | MAG FEA 17 | MAG SPR 6 | SIL FEA 3 | SIL SPR 3 | NÜR FEA 3 | NÜR SPR 3 | HUN FEA 2 | HUN SPR Ret | IST FEA 6 | IST SPR Ret | MNZ FEA DSQ | MNZ SPR 18 | SPA FEA Ret | SPA SPR 9 | VAL FEA 3 | VAL SPR 7 | 5th | 44 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | AT&TWilliams | WilliamsFW29 | Toyota RVX-07 2.4V8 | AUS TD | MAL TD | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN TD | USA TD | FRA | GBR | EUR | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | JPN | CHN TD | BRA 10 | 22nd | 0 | |
| 2008 | AT&TWilliams | WilliamsFW30 | Toyota RVX-08 2.4V8 | AUS 6 | MAL 17 | BHR 14 | ESP 7 | TUR Ret | MON 7 | CAN Ret | FRA 15 | GBR 8 | GER 14 | HUN 13 | EUR 15 | BEL 14 | ITA 12 | SIN 8 | JPN 15 | CHN 12 | BRA 17 | 15th | 9 |
| 2009 | AT&TWilliams | WilliamsFW31 | Toyota RVX-09 2.4V8 | AUS Ret | MAL 12 | CHN Ret | BHR Ret | ESP 13 | MON 15† | TUR 12 | GBR 11 | GER 12 | HUN 9 | EUR 18† | BEL 13 | ITA 10 | SIN 9 | JPN 15 | BRA Ret | ABU 13 | 20th | 0 |
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | apr | Toyota MR-S | GT300 | OKA 4 | FUJ 5 | SEP 5 | SUG 1 | MOT Ret | FUJ 7 | AUT Ret | SUZ 7 | 8th | 52 |
| 2011 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA 4 | FUJ 4 | SEP 6 | SUG 9 | SUZ 6 | FUJ 15 | AUT 4 | MOT 8 | 8th | 39 |
| 2012 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA 5 | FUJ 4 | SEP 13 | SUG 2 | SUZ Ret | FUJ 4 | AUT 15 | MOT 8 | 7th | 40 |
| 2013 | LexusTeam PetronasTOM'S | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA 12 | FUJ 1 | SEP 11 | SUG 10 | SUZ 3 | FUJ 12 | AUT 1 | MOT 5 | 3rd | 60 |
| 2014 | LexusTeam PetronasTOM'S | Lexus RC F | GT500 | OKA 13 | FUJ | AUT | SUG 4 | FUJ 5 | SUZ 1 | BUR 1 | MOT 10 | 5th | 60 |
| 2017 | Lexus Team au TOM's | Lexus LC 500 | GT500 | OKA 5 | FUJ | AUT 1 | SUG 7 | FUJ 4 | SUZ 9 | BUR 5 | MOT 14 | 6th | 47 |
| 2018 | Lexus Team au TOM's | Lexus LC 500 | GT500 | OKA 13 | FUJ | SUZ 5 | CHA 10 | FUJ 1 | SUG 12 | AUT 2 | MOT 13 | 6th | 47 |
| 2019 | Lexus Team au TOM's | Lexus LC 500 | GT500 | OKA 9‡ | FUJ | SUZ 1 | CHA 9 | FUJ Ret | AUT 10 | SUG 10 | MOT 3 | 7th | 38 |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 3 | AUT 1 | FUJ 3 | MOT 3 | SUZ C | SUG 3 | MOT 2 | MOT 2 | 2nd | 42 | |
| 2012 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 1 | MOT 3 | AUT 5 | FUJ 2 | MOT 4 | SUG 5 | SUZ 12 | SUZ 1 | 1st | 46 | |
| 2013 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 5 | AUT 12 | FUJ 8 | MOT 1 | SUG Ret | SUZ Ret | SUZ 1 | 4th | 24 | ||
| 2014 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 5 | FUJ 2 | FUJ 3 | FUJ 1 | MOT 7 | AUT 6 | SUG 2 | SUZ 2 | SUZ 1 | 1st | 46 |
| 2015 | PetronasTeam TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 2 | OKA | FUJ 2 | MOT 2 | AUT 1 | SUG 4 | SUZ 4 | SUZ 2 | 2nd | 45.5 | |
| 2016 | Vantelin Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 12 | OKA 17 | FUJ 2 | MOT 7 | OKA 19 | OKA 2 | SUG 4 | SUZ 5 | SUZ 16 | 6th | 22 |
| 2017 | Vantelin Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 1 | OKA 9 | OKA 18 | FUJ 7 | MOT 11 | AUT 6 | SUG 3 | SUZ C | SUZ C | 5th | 22 |
| 2018 | Vantelin Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ 8 | AUT C | SUG 3 | FUJ 5 | MOT | OKA 17 | SUZ 5 | 6th | 15 | ||
| 2019 | Vantelin Team TOM'S | Toyota | SUZ Ret | AUT 13 | SUG 12 | FUJ 5 | MOT 16 | OKA 2 | SUZ 14 | 12th | 12 | ||
| 2020 | Vantelin Team TOM'S | Toyota | MOT 4 | OKA | SUG 15 | AUT | SUZ 2 | SUZ 16 | FUJ 9 | 11th | 25 | ||
| 2021 | Kuo Vantelin Team TOM'S | Toyota | FUJ 11 | SUZ | AUT | SUG | MOT | MOT 7 | SUZ | 16th | 4 | ||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Toyota Racing |  Nicolas Lapierre Alexander Wurz | Toyota TS030 Hybrid | LMP1 | 134 | DNF | DNF |
| 2013 | Toyota Racing | Nicolas LapierreAlexander Wurz | Toyota TS030 Hybrid | LMP1 | 341 | 4th | 4th |
| 2014 | Toyota Racing | Stéphane SarrazinAlexander Wurz | Toyota TS040 Hybrid | LMP1-H | 219 | DNF | DNF |
| 2015 | Toyota Racing |  Sébastien BuemiAnthony Davidson | Toyota TS040 Hybrid | LMP1 | 386 | 8th | 8th |
| 2016 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Sébastien BuemiAnthony Davidson | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 384 | NC | NC |
| 2017 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Sébastien BuemiAnthony Davidson | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 358 | 8th | 2nd |
| 2018 | Toyota Gazoo Racing |  Fernando AlonsoSébastien Buemi | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 388 | 1st | 1st |
| 2019 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Fernando AlonsoSébastien Buemi | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 385 | 1st | 1st |
| 2020 | Toyota Gazoo Racing |  Brendon HartleySébastien Buemi | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 387 | 1st | 1st |
| 2021 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Brendon HartleySébastien Buemi | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | Hypercar | 369 | 2nd | 2nd |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Formula Toyota Champion 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Formula Nippon Champion 2012 | Succeeded by Naoki Yamamoto (Super Formula) |
| Preceded by | Super Formula Champion 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2018,2019,2020 With:Fernando Alonso (2018-19), Sébastien Buemi (2018-20) &Brendon Hartley (2020) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Endurance Drivers Champion 2018–19 With:Sébastien Buemi &Fernando Alonso | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship |
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| FIA Formula 3 Championship |
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| Vehicles |
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