is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series in LMP2 for United Autosports. He previously drove in the FIA World Endurance Championship in LMGT3, in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and tested for AlphaTauri in Formula One. He is the 2019 Euroformula Open champion.
Sato is not related to former Formula One driver Takuma Sato.
Early career Formula 4 In 2015, Sato competed in the 2015 Italian F4 Championship for Euronova Racing/Vincenzo Sospiri Racing. He finished on the podium once and came tenth in the final standings. Sato would remain with the team for the 2016 Italian F4 Championship. However, even when he won a race at Imola, he only finished 18th in the driver's championship.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship
2017 Sato progressed to the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship to drive for Motopark. He scored one point during the season and finished 19th in the standings.
2018
Despite having been the second-lowest driver in the standings to compete at every event, Sato was retained for the 2018 season. His performance improved compared to 2017, and he finished 16th in the championship.
Euroformula Open Sato moved to the Euroformula Open Championship in 2019. He dominated the championship, winning it with nine victories and helped Motopark to win the team championship.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
2019 In the summer of 2019, Sato progressed to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, replacing Arjun Maini at Campos Racing from the round at Spa-Francorchamps onwards. However, after the fatal accident of Anthoine Hubert, the Japanese racer would not officially make his F2 debut until the Monza feature race, finishing twelfth overall. He improved to eleventh in the sprint, before having a point-less pair of races in Sochi. Sato would briefly challenge for points in the season finale in Yas Marina, albeit it was not enough to earn him a points finish. Despite this, he took part in the post-season test on the week after the final race, driving for Trident.
2020 In 2020, Sato signed for Trident Racing to partner Roy Nissany in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Sato only managed to score one point at Mugello, and eventually finished 22nd in the standings, four points and three positions behind Nissany.
2021 Despite this, Sato was kept on by Trident for the 2021 season. In the second race of the first round, he equalled his best ever F2 result, finishing eighth and scoring one point. However, this would end up being the only points finish for Sato, as he ended up 21st overall.
2022
Sato remained in the series in 2022, this time joining Virtuosi Racing alongside Jack Doohan. A point-less opening weekend in Bahrain was followed up by his first points finish of the year, as Sato ended up eighth in the sprint race at Jeddah, after which he praised the team for the strong pace. After a pair of rounds that failed to yield any points, the Japanese driver managed to score a point in Monaco with a tenth-place finish, and managed to finish eighth in the subsequent feature race in Baku, having managed to steer clear of trouble in a race of attrition. The following rounds brought with them a heap of bad luck, with Sato experiencing multiple mechanical issues, as well as having a wheel falling off after a pit stop in Zandvoort, a race in which he had fought for points. Having failed to score points in the second half of the season, the Japanese driver finished 22nd in the drivers' standings.
Sato was replaced by Amaury Cordeel at Virtuosi for the 2023 season.
Formula One In 2020, Sato drove in the end-of-season Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi for Scuderia AlphaTauri, alongside fellow countryman Yuki Tsunoda (who would soon become an AlphaTauri race driver). He ended the session with the 13th fastest time (1:38.495), reflecting on that day as one that "made [him] visualise more what [his] dream is".
Sportscar career
2023: ELMS debut For the 2023 season, Sato transitioned into sportscar racing, driving for United Autosports in the LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series alongside Philip Hanson and Oliver Jarvis. With the help of those two experienced LMP2 racers, Sato managed to take victory thrice, taking his first prototype win at Aragón and sweeping the races at Portimão, which led to the team finishing second in the standings.
2024: FIA World Endurance Championship Following his performances in the European Le Mans Series, Sato was announced to be remaining with United Autosports to make his international sportscar racing debut in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving in the newly established LMGT3 class in a McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.
Sato was also originally announced to be competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in the LMP2 class for 2024, racing alongside former Formula One driver Paul di Resta, but he later withdrew from the IMSA programme after an upgrade in his FIA driver categorisation from silver to gold, leaving him to "focus fully on the WEC challenge ahead." In December 2023, United would announce that Sato had signed on for a sophomore season in the ELMS, partnering Ben Hanley and Filip Ugran.
2025
Sato was retained by United Autosports to drive in the LMGT3 class of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Karting record
Karting career summary SeasonSeriesTeamPosition2011Asian Karting Open Championship — Formula 125 Junior Open12th2012Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — JuniorEiko Japan28thSKUSA SuperNationals — TaG JuniorPhil Giebler Racing13thAsia-Pacific Championship — KF3Simon Racing Team2nd2013German Karting Championship — JuniorNCWSK Master Series — KFJPraga Kart Racing38thIAME International Final — X30 Junior16thRotax International Open — Junior32ndWSK Final Cup — KFJ32ndCIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ66th2014South Garda Winter Cup — KFPraga Kart Racing19thWSK Champions Cup — KF21stRotax Euro Challenge — Senior89thWSK Super Master Series — KF37thCIK-FIA European Championship — KF49thCIK-FIA World Championship — KFNCWSK Final Cup — KF25th
Racing record
Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles Podiums Points Position 2015 Italian F4 Championship Vincenzo Sospiri Racing 21 0 0 1 1 62 10th 2016 Italian F4 Championship Vincenzo Sospiri Racing 21 1 0 0 1 42 18th 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Motopark 30 0 0 0 0 1 19th Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Motopark 30 0 0 0 0 31.5 16th Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF 2019 Euroformula Open Championship Team Motopark 16 9 6 5 11 307 1st FIA Formula 2 Championship Campos Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 21st 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 24 0 0 0 0 1 22nd 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 23 0 0 0 0 1 21st 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship Virtuosi Racing 28 0 0 0 0 6 22nd 2023 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 United Autosports USA 6 3 0 0 3 100 2nd 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3 United Autosports 8 0 0 0 1 36 18th European Le Mans Series - LMP2 6 0 0 0 1 29 10th Porsche Carrera Cup Japan Ponos Racing 2 0 0 0 1 20.5 16th 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3 United Autosports 8 1 0 0 1 43 11th European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Pro-Am 6 0 0 0 1 62 7th2025-26Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2PONOS Racing 5 0 0 0 0 2 18th2026European Le Mans Series - LMP2United Autosports 5 0 0 0 2 44* 8th*Source:
Complete Italian F4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics 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 22 23 DC Points 2015 Vincenzo Sospiri Racing VLL1 VLL2 VLL3 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 IMO11 IMO12 IMO13 MUG1 MUG2 MUG3 ADR1 ADR2 ADR3 IMO21 IMO22 IMO23 MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 10th 62 2016 Vincenzo Sospiri Racing MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 MIS4 ADR1 ADR2 ADR3 ADR4 IMO11 IMO12 IMO13 MUG1 MUG2 MUG3 VLL1 VLL2 VLL3 IMO21 IMO22 IMO23 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 18th 42
Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points 2017 Motopark Volkswagen SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 PAU1 PAU2 PAU3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 NOR1 NOR2 NOR3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 19th 1 2018 Motopark Volkswagen PAU1 PAU2 PAU3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 NOR1 NOR2 NOR3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 16th 31.5 ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
Complete Macau Grand Prix results Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race 2017 Motopark Dallara F317 15th 14th DNF 2018 Motopark Dallara F317 7th 11th DNF
Complete Euroformula Open Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points 2019 Team Motopark LEC1 LEC2 PAU1 PAU2 HOC1 HOC2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 RBR1 RBR2 SIL1 SIL2 CAT1 CAT2 MNZ1 MNZ2 1st 307
Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points Campos Racing BHRFEA BHRSPR BAKFEA BAKSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA MONSPR LECFEA LECSPR RBRSPR RBRSPR SILFEA SILSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR SOCFEA SOCSPR YMCFEA YMCSPR 21st 0 Trident RBRFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA RBRSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SILFEA SILSPR SILFEA SILSPR CATFEA CATSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR MUGFEA MUGSPR SOCFEA SOCSPR BHRFEA BHRSPR BHRFEA BHRSPR 22nd 1 Trident BHRSP1 BHRSP2 BHRFEA MCOSP1 MCOSP2 MCOFEA BAKSP1 BAKSP2 BAKFEA SILSP1 SILSP2 SILFEA MNZSP1 MNZSP2 MNZFEA SOCSP1 SOCSP2 SOCFEA JEDSP1 JEDSP2 JEDFEA YMCSP1 YMCSP2 YMCFEA 21st 1 2022 Virtuosi Racing BHRSPR BHRFEA JEDSPR JEDFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA CATSPR CATFEA MCOSPR MCOFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA SILSPR SILFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA LECSPR LECFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA ZANSPR ZANFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 22nd 6 † Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance. * Season still in progress.
Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2023 United Autosports USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC ARA SPA POR ALG 2nd 100 2024 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA MUG ALG 10th 29 2025 United Autosports LMP2 Pro-Am Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 7th 62 2026 United Autosports LMP2 Pro-Am Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 8th* 44*
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2024 United Autosports LMGT3 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8 QAT IMO SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ BHR 18th 36 2025 United Autosports LMGT3 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8 QAT IMO SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ BHR 11th 43
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2024 United Autosports Hiroshi Hamaguchi Nico Pino McLaren 720S GT3 Evo LMGT3 212 DNF DNF 2025 United Autosports Sean Gelael Darren Leung McLaren 720S GT3 Evo LMGT3 80 DNF DNF
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) + Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pos. Points 2025–26 PONOS Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEP1 SEP2 DUB1 DUB2 ABU1 ABU2 18th 2
References
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