Soichiro Shioda and Yu Onohara Awarded 2026 HRS Formula Scholarships
Honda Racing School Suzuka*1 (HRS) held its final scholarship selection on 28 October 2026, selecting Soichiro Shioda as the top-ranked recipient and Yu Onohara as the second-ranked recipient of the 2026 scholarships.
Eight students enrolled in March and completed the Advanced Course curriculum. In July, five of them were selected as scholarship candidates. Following two scholarship selection sessions, the final selection confirmed Shioda and Onohara as the scholarship recipients.
Both drivers will join Honda's driver development programme, the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP), and are expected to compete in junior racing categories from the 2027 season.
Honda will continue to strengthen its driver development programme with the aim of nurturing drivers capable of competing at the highest level in the world's leading motorsport categories, including F1*2.
*1 A racing driver and rider development school operated by Honda Racing Corporation and Honda Mobilityland Corporation.
*2 FIA Formula One World Championship (F1). FIA stands for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (International Automobile Federation).
2026 HRS Formula Scholarship Recipients
First Place
Soichiro Shioda
Age: 17 / From Kanagawa Prefecture
Career Highlights
2022
Represented Japan in the JUNIOR MAX class at the ROTAX GRAND FINALS.
2024
All-Japan Karting Championship, JAF FS-125 class: 3rd overall (2 wins).
ROTAX MAX CHALLENGE SUZUKA, SENIOR MAX class: 4th overall (best finish: 2nd).
2026
Japanese FIA-F4 Championship: 7th overall (1 win, as of Round 12 of 14).
HRS Formula Class: Scholarship recipient (1st place).
Comment from Soichiro Shioda
"I am really delighted to have earned this scholarship. I missed out at the Advanced Course stage last year, so being able to come back a year later and achieve my goal means a great deal to me. I feel that I have finally reached the starting line.
"From here, I will work harder than ever to achieve results worthy of a Honda development driver and fulfil my dream of becoming an F1 World Champion. Thank you for your continued support."
Second Place
Yu Onohara
Age: 17 / From Osaka Prefecture
Career Highlights
2023
JAF Junior Karting Championship, Suzuka Series, Junior Division (JUNIOR MAX class): 7th overall (best finish: 4th).
ROTAX MAX CHALLENGE Mizunami Series, JUNIOR MAX class: 12th overall (best finish: 7th).
2024
ROTAX MAX CHALLENGE Mizunami Series, SENIOR MAX class: 26th overall (best finish: 11th).
2026
Suzuka-Okayama S-FJ Championship: 2nd overall (2 wins).
HRS Formula Class: Scholarship recipient (2nd place).
Comment from Yu Onohara
"To be frank, I am disappointed to have finished second. However, I want to use this disappointment as motivation to grow, face my weaknesses and work hard to overcome them.
"I will continue preparing for the next stage and working to become a faster and stronger driver."
Comment from Takuma Sato, HRS Principal
"The 2026 HRS Formula Class curriculum has now been completed. This year, we also welcomed students from overseas, and all the young drivers made significant progress.
"During the scholarship selection sessions, they showed great promise, battling for the top positions against our instructors, who are professional racing drivers. Their performances were extremely encouraging.
"We will continue to focus on developing young drivers who can compete successfully on the international stage. I am already very much looking forward to meeting more talented young people here next year who will go on to carve out their own futures."
