Satoru Nakajima (Japanese: 中嶋 悟, Hepburn: Nakajima Satoru; born 23 February 1953) is a Japanese former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1987 to 1991.
Born and raised in Okazaki, Aichi, Nakajima began his racing career at the Suzuka Circuit in 1973. He progressed to Japanese Formula Two in 1977, winning a then-record five titles between 1981 and 1986, with 21 victories across 10 seasons. After several appearances in sportscar racing via the World Sportscar Championship and the All Japan Endurance Championship—as well as a season in International Formula 3000—Nakajima signed for Lotus in 1987 to partner Ayrton Senna, becoming the first Japanese driver to compete full-time in Formula One at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He scored his maiden points finish at the following round in San Marino, and achieved a career-best fourth place at the British Grand Prix.
Across his remaining two seasons at Lotus, Nakajima scored points finishes at the 1988 Brazilian and 1989 Australian Grands Prix, setting the fastest lap and finishing fourth at the latter. Nakajima moved to Tyrrell in 1990, scoring points finishes in the United States, Italy and his home Grand Prix in Japan. Retaining his seat for his 1991 campaign at Tyrrell under Honda power, Nakajima scored his final points at the season-opening United States Grand Prix, leaving at the end of the season to join Honda's works team project. Nakajima tested the RC100 and related models until 1994, when Honda pulled out of Formula One following the Japanese asset price bubble.
Upon retiring from motor racing, Nakajima focused on his Nakajima Racing team, which he had founded in 1984 to privately enter March chassis into the Japanese Formula Two Championship, winning three consecutive titles until 1986. Nakajima won four Formula Nippon Teams' Championship titles between 1999 and 2009, still competing in the newly-formed Super Formula Championship, as well as the Super GT Series. Nakajima's sons Kazuki and Daisuke both became racing drivers, the former also competing in Formula One for Williams from 2007 to 2009.
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Early life
Satoru Nakajima was born on 23 February 1953 to a farming family living just outside Okazaki, Japan. He began driving cars in his early teens in the family's garden with his older brother giving him tips, careful that their father didn't catch them. He felt exhilaration behind the wheel of a car, and from then on knew what he wanted to do.
Career
Nakajima started racing after he finished school and passed his driver's licence. In 1973 he was a rookie in the Suzuka Circuit series, which he won. Five years later, he won his first race in Japanese Formula Two. In 1981 he won his first championship, thus beginning a period of domination in the series. He won five of the next six championships, all of them equipped with a Honda V6 engine.
Nakajima participated in 80 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the Brazilian Grand Prix on 12 April 1987, bringing Honda engines to the Lotus team. He was 34 years old in his debut race, making him one of Formula One's oldest debutants of the modern era. He finished sixth, and so scored a point, in only his second race, the 1987 San Marino Grand Prix. During his debut season, Nakajima was outclassed by his teammate Ayrton Senna, and many questioned Nakajima's place in F1, stating that if not for Honda he would not have been there on merit.
Honda had originally pushed for Nakajima to replace Nigel Mansell at Williams for the 1986 season (the Japanese company supplied their engines exclusively to Williams from 1984 to 1986). However, Williams owner Frank Williams refused to dump Mansell, who despite scoring only seven points in the first 12 rounds, had finally won his first two races towards the end of the 1985 season. Frank Williams, who was always more interested in the Constructors' rather than the Drivers' Championship, reasoned that having race winner Mansell, and then dual World Champion Nelson Piquet, would give the team its best shot at the Constructors' title, and that the unproven (in F1) Nakajima would struggle (Williams was to be proven correct on this). Lotus were looking for a new engine partner for 1987 as Renault were pulling out of the sport at the end of 1986. Lotus agreed to take on Nakajima replacing Johnny Dumfries in the second seat as a part of the new engine deal with Honda.
1988 was another miserable year in F1 for both Nakajima and Lotus. In the final season for turbos and using the same V6 engines that propelled McLaren drivers Senna and Alain Prost to win 15 of the season's 16 races, Nakajima scored only a single point during the season finishing sixth in the opening race in Brazil. He also failed to qualify the Lotus 100T at both Monaco and Detroit, the only times between its first race in 1983 and the end of the turbo era in 1988 that a Honda V6 turbo failed to qualify for any Grands Prix entered. Despite this, on occasions Nakajima was able to push his teammate, reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet who had replaced Senna.
Personal life
Nakajima still lives in his family home near Okazaki. He owns the Nakajima Racing entry in Japanese Formula 3000 / Formula Nippon / Super Formula. Nakajima drivers have won the Formula Nippon championship three times, Tom Coronel doing so in 1999, Toranosuke Takagi in 2000, and Ralph Firman in 2002.
Nakajima's son, Kazuki raced for the Williams team in Formula One in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Nakajima's younger son, Daisuke, is also a racing driver. He competed in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2009 and 2010. After their careers in open-wheel racing, both turned to sports car racing; Kazuki raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing while Daisuke raced in Super GT; both have since retired from racing. Kazuki retired after the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship to take up a managerial role with Toyota Gazoo Racing, while Daisuke retired at the end of the 2019 Super GT Series and has since maintained a low profile.
Racing record
Japanese Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Helmet
Nakajima's helmet was white with two red lines forming a circular end on the chin area, with a wide line on the rear of the helmet with written NAKAJIMA on it. His son Kazuki Nakajima uses a slightly different version of this helmet.
Video games
Between 1988 and 1994, Nakajima endorsed many Formula One video games for various consoles like Family Computer, Sega Mega Drive, Game Boy and Super Famicom. While most of these games (released by Varie) were only released in Japan, one of the games Nakajima had endorsed for the Mega Drive was released internationally as Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge. He also appeared as a playable driver in his Lotus 100T in Codemasters' F1 2013.