The 2026 season is not far away and most of the teams in Formula 3 and Formula 2 already have their eyes on it. With new line-ups and only one experienced driver, will that fresh air help Hitech TGR to win it all ?
Founded in 2002, Hitech Racing is still a young team. They came in Formula 3 in 2016 and in Formula 2 in 2020. After a small controversy last year surrounding the Oakes brothers, the British team will now have a new sponsor : Toyota Gazoo Racing. For the 2026 season, they decided to go with four new drivers. Three new driver in F3 and one in F2. Let’s discover who will try and bring glory to the team.
Two New Faces and an Unexpected Return
In Formula 3, even though their drivers have no experience in that championship, the choice is coherent. The line-up is strong and might actually be the best one on the grid. If they manage to have a good car, they might be in good contention for the title.
Jin Nakamura
After a brief detour in Super GT and Super Taikyu in 2024, the 19 years old competed with R-ace GP in FRECA last year. He finished tenth in the standing with 81 points and even did two races in LeMans Cup in LMP3. His first year in Formula 3 will of course be about learning. However, he has the potential to be in the top 10 at the end of the season.
Fionn McLaughlin
The Irish driver is probably one of the top talents on the grid. Always racing with Hitech TGR since his single seater debut last year, he finished third in the Formula Winter Series. He also became champion of British F4 Championship, with 363.5 points. He won five times and stood on 14 podiums for thirty races which is half of them. The 18 years old does seems to lack a bit of experience in qualifying, something that he needs to fix if he wants to target the championship in his Formula 3 debut.
Michael Shin
Born Shin Woo-hyun, the South Korean driver is known as Michael Shin. It’s not his first time in the category as the 21 years old was already there in 2023, replacing McKenzy Cresswell for the last six races in PHM Racing by Charouz. His first attempt was not memorable since he finished 32nd in the standing. After a full season in Euroformula Open Championship, where he finished third in the standing, he’s ready to give everything again despite the change of cars since he first joined the category.
Experience in Other Categories
For their Formula 2 line-up, Hitech TGR bet on experience, whether it’s on Super Formula and F2, as well as other categories on the other side of the Atlantic, with Indy Lights and Indycar.
Ritomo Miyata
It will be the third year in Formula 2 for the Japanese driver. Starting with Rodin Carlin in 2024, he moved to ART Grand Prix where he finished seventeenth in the standing. Former Super Formula champion, even though he seems to struggle in Europe, he scored his first podium in the category last year. Joining Hitech TGR was probably thanks to the new partnership but it doesn’t take away his talent. This year will be about twisting the experience that he has into results as he will be the leader of this team.
Colton Herta
It was the greatest news of this 2026 season and one to bring more American viewers into the category. Colton Herta is an experienced driver in Indycar : vice champion in 2024, he has had a rough season last year, finishing seventh in the standings. This result prevented him from having the Super Licence points necessary to join the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. He comes back to Europe for his first Formula 2 campaign, and has a lot of pressure on his shoulders since a lot of people will have eyes on him.
Hitech TGR has two interesting line-ups with a lot of potential. Let’s hope their cars are as good as their drivers and see if they can maximize that potential and bring both titles home.
Explore more of our Dive Into the Grid series team portraits here