Suzuka Stories:

‘I Slept Under the Grandstand to Watch the Grand Prix’

The next day, he had a clear view of one of the most memorable Grands Prix of its time, as Kimi Raikkonen stormed through the field from P17 to take the win, grabbing the lead on the final lap.

‘Katsu’ will be back at Suzuka this season, but our team Performance Engineer won’t need a repeat of his Suzuka sleepover from 20 years ago this time around.

“Last year’s race was one of my first working with George. I had already worked with him at some races in 2023. From Imola last year [2024], I have been full-time on his side of the garage,” he says.

Despite Japan being a regular on the F1 calendar since the 1980s, there has never been consistent presence in the paddock. But Katsu is changing that.

“It’s not easy if you are born on this side of the world, opportunity is pretty limited,” he says.

“I did not even go abroad until I was 26 years old, so I had a lot of barriers to overcome.”

Rewind even further and Katsu’s journey into motorsport kicked into gear at University in Yokohama.

“My starting point was Formula Student. That gave me insight on what it takes to build and operate a race car. I count that as the beginning of my professional career, in many ways.”

While F1 was at that time out of reach, there were plenty of options at home in Japan for Katsu to explore.

“I was lucky enough to get a job for Toyota as part of their Super GT programme. I was so happy,” he says.

Based trackside, Katsu’s role is centred around reliability, allowing him to put into practice what his Formula Student days had taught him, and continue his development in the industry.

He went all over Japan, visiting the trifecta of tracks in the country to have hosted an F1 Grand Prix. Fuji, TI Aida (now Okayama) and of course, Suzuka.

It was not long before Europe came calling, though.

“For 2015, my manager picked me to go to Europe and get involved with the Endurance racing programme Toyota had at that time,” Katsu recalls.

“It was the biggest step I have taken in my career outside of Formula 1. I got to see how people work trackside in Europe.

“Back then, the series was as strong as ever, with some big names involved in LMP1 – Porsche, Toyota, Audi, Nissan."

It was not yet F1, but there was F1 pedigree on the grid that year. Now a performance engineer, Katsu was right in the heart of the action.

“Sebastian Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Fernando [Alonso] were all involved with programme. I got to work with them too,” explains Katsu.

By now the connection to F1 had been well and truly made, and it was time to take the next step.

From Germany to Great Britain, and from Toyota… to Racing Point. Twenty years after first having that F1 dream, Katsu had made it.

“I was a simulator test engineer in 2020. I had three years there before applying to work at Mercedes. I was then lucky enough to get an offer from Shov [Andrew Shovlin] and Riki [Musconi].”

Katsu had broken through and was now a firm fixture in the F1 paddock, alongside the likes of Ayao Komatsu – Haas’ Team Principal, and Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda.

What advice would he give to the next generation of Japanese motorsport fans who might be thinking about a career in motorsport?

“I always thought it would be unachievable for me, but if you love the sport so much and have that direction there are opportunities available,” says Katsu.

“You don’t have to jump into F1 as your first job, you can work through to it, especially in Japan, where there are so many great racing categories available.

“If you keep focused on your goal, it can happen.”

Katsu’s story, like many in F1, is full circle. Having first gone to Suzuka in 2013, he will be trackside as George’s performance engineer in 2025.

A special circuit then, for many reasons.

“Obviously I am biased, but until I joined F1 I did not appreciate that everything that teams and drivers say externally about Suzuka is what they really feel,” says Katsu.

“Everyone always says it’s the best track with best fans, and having spoken to those people around me it seems that is the case.

“The track layout with all its high-speed, flowing corners in succession makes it a cool track to drive.

“Then if you look at the history, so many memorable title-deciding moments have happened there.

“Obviously the race has now moved to the cherry blossom season, which looks great – but a bit sad for me personally as my birthday is 13 October, which used to be when the race would take place!”