Kazuki Nakajima facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kazuki Nakajima
中嶋 一貴
Nakajima at the 2012 6 Hours of Fuji
Born	(1985-01-11) 11 January 1985 (age 40) Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
Employer	FIA WEC Toyota (2022–present)
Title	Vice-Chairman
Parent(s)	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 in 2018–19 (LMP1)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Japanese
Active years	2007–2009
Teams	Williams
Entries	36 (36 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	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
2005–2019 2007 2006 2004–2005 2003	Super GT GP2 Series F3 Euro Series Japanese F3 Formula Toyota
Championship titles
2003	Formula Toyota

Kazuki Nakajima (Japanese: 中嶋 一貴, Hepburn: Nakajima Kazuki, born 11 January 1985) is a Japanese former racing driver and a leader in motorsport. He raced in Formula One from 2007 to 2009. In Japan, Nakajima won the Super Formula Championship twice, in 2012 and 2014, with the TOM'S team.

He also had great success in endurance racing. Nakajima won the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship. He is also a three-time winner of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. He won this race three years in a row, from 2018 to 2020, all with Toyota. Since 2022, Nakajima has been a vice-chairman for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship. Under his leadership, Toyota won three World Manufacturers' Championship titles from 2022 to 2024.

Kazuki Nakajima's Racing Journey

Starting Out: Before Formula One

Kazuki Nakajima was born on January 11, 1985, in Okazaki, Aichi, Japan. His father, Satoru Nakajima, was also a famous Formula One driver. Kazuki's younger brother, Daisuke Nakajima, is also a racing driver.

Kazuki began his racing journey in 1996 by competing in karting. Just three years later, he became the Suzuka Formula ICA karting champion. His impressive skills caught the eye of Toyota, and he joined their Young Drivers Program. This was a big step for him, as his father had been supported by Toyota's rival, Honda. Kazuki hoped joining Toyota would show he earned his success on his own.

In 2002, Nakajima won a scholarship in Formula Toyota, and he became champion the very next year. He then moved up to Japanese Formula Three in 2004. He won two races and finished fifth overall.

Nakajima continued in Japanese Formula Three in 2005, where he finished second. He also raced in the Japanese GT300 sports car series, ending that year in eighth place.

In 2006, Nakajima moved to the Formula Three Euroseries. He competed against future stars like Sebastian Vettel. He started strong with a second-place finish and a win early in the season. He ended the year in seventh place.

Nakajima driving the Williams FW29 at the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

In November 2006, Nakajima was chosen as a test driver for the Williams Formula One team for the 2007 season. His goal was to earn a full race seat in 2008. He first drove a Formula One car at Fuji Speedway in November 2006, completing a few laps in the rain.

In 2007, Nakajima also raced in the GP2 series for the DAMS team. He also continued his role as a test driver for Williams, completing many kilometers of testing. His first year in GP2 saw him finish as the top rookie, with five podium finishes in a row. He ended the championship in fifth place.

Formula One: A Dream Come True

Nakajima driving in the rainy first free practice session during the 2007 Brazilian GP. His father Satoru also made his Formula One debut at the Brazilian GP in 1987.

On October 9, 2007, it was announced that Nakajima would race for Williams in the final race of the season in Brazil. He finished tenth in the race and even set the fifth fastest lap, which was quicker than his teammate.

During his first pit stop, Nakajima accidentally went too far and bumped two of his mechanics. They were taken to the hospital for checks, and Nakajima quickly apologized for the mistake. Williams team leader Patrick Head praised Nakajima's driving, saying his lap times were impressive.

Nakajima driving for Williams at the 2008 French Grand Prix.

On November 7, Williams confirmed that Nakajima would be a full-time race driver for the 2008 season, partnering with Nico Rosberg. He had a strong start to 2008 at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, finishing seventh, which was later changed to sixth. He then finished seventh again at the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix. Nakajima scored two points at Monaco, becoming the first Japanese Formula One driver to score points there. He also scored another point at the 2008 British Grand Prix. In Singapore, he qualified tenth and finished eighth, earning another point.

Nakajima driving for Williams at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.

Nakajima stayed with Williams for the 2009 season. He had some tough races, including crashes in Australia and Monaco. He came close to scoring points in several races, like the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, where he finished just behind eighth place. At the 2009 British Grand Prix, he achieved his best Formula One qualifying position, starting fifth. However, his race result was affected by a poor pit stop strategy. He finished the 2009 season without scoring any points.

For 2010, Williams signed new drivers, leaving Nakajima without a seat. He was later linked to a new team called Stefan GP, but the team was not allowed to enter the 2010 Formula One season. This meant Nakajima did not have a drive in Formula One for that year.

Back to Japan: Super Formula Success

Nakajima driving the Dallara SF14 for TOM'S in 2014.

After a successful test in late 2010, Nakajima returned to racing in Japan. He competed in Formula Nippon (later called Super Formula) in 2011 for the TOM'S team. He won his first race at Autopolis and took the lead in the championship. He finished second overall that year.

He continued in the series in 2012 and won the championship title! In 2013, he finished fourth. But in 2014, he won the Super Formula title again with his Petronas Team TOM'S. He finished second overall in 2015. His younger brother, Daisuke, also competed in this series until 2017.

Super GT: Racing Sports Cars

Nakajima racing for Petronas Team TOM'S in 2011.

Nakajima first raced in the Japanese Super GT series in 2005. He drove a Toyota MR-S in the GT300 class and even won a race. He returned to the GT500 class in 2011, driving a Lexus SC430.

In 2013, he teamed up with James Rossiter, winning two races and finishing third in the championship. In 2014, they drove a Lexus RC F and won two more races. He returned to Super GT in 2017, driving a Lexus LC for TOM's.

FIA World Endurance Championship: Le Mans Wins

In 2012, Toyota chose Nakajima to be one of their drivers for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He drove the Toyota TS030 Hybrid prototype car. At Le Mans, his car had an incident with another car, and neither finished the race. However, he finished second at the 2012 6 Hours of Silverstone. At the 2012 6 Hours of Fuji, Nakajima took pole position and helped his team win the race, which was his first win with Toyota.

Nakajima driving in the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone.

Nakajima continued as a part-time driver for Toyota's LMP1 team for the next two seasons. He won the 2013 6 Hours of Fuji. In 2014, he finished second in several races.

He became a full-time Toyota LMP1 driver for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. His best result was a third-place finish at Silverstone. In 2016, he also achieved a third-place finish at Shanghai.

Nakajima started the 2017 season with two wins at Silverstone and Spa.

A huge highlight of his career was winning the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours race in the #8 Toyota, alongside Fernando Alonso and Sébastian Buemi.

Nakajima, Buemi, and Alonso repeated this amazing achievement in 2019, winning Le Mans again. At the same time, they also won the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship. This made Nakajima the second Japanese FIA world champion.

He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for a third time in 2020, this time with Brendon Hartley and Sébastian Buemi.

Nakajima retired from racing after the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship. He then took on a new role as vice-chairman at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe.

Career Summary

‡ Team standings

See also

In Spanish: Kazuki Nakajima para niños