Shinji Nakano

Shinji Nakano (1 April 1971 - Present): Japanese racing driver whose father Tsuneharu was also a racing driver. Nakano made his F1 debut at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix with Prost Grand Prix, owned by four-time world champion Alain Prost. In his debut season, he scored two championship points with sixth-place finishes in Canada and Hungary. When Prost switched from Mugen-Honda to Peugeot engines for 1998, Nakano lost his seat and joined Minardi alongside Esteban Tuero.

He failed to score points in 1998 and concluded his F1 career at his home race in Suzuka, having contested 33 grands prix. In 1999 he served as an occasional test driver for Jordan. After F1, Nakano raced in CART from 2000-2002, achieving a best result of fourth at the 2002 Toronto Indy, and competed in the 2003 Indianapolis 500, finishing 14th. He became the first Japanese driver to compete in the Monaco GP, F1, and Indianapolis 500.

Nakano also competed at Le Mans six times, with a best finish of fifth in 2011. Since 2016, he has worked as a Formula 1 commentator for DAZN Japan.