Satoru Nakajima

Satoru Nakajima was the first Japanese driver to compete full-time in the Formula 1 World Championship, making seventy-five starts across five seasons from 1987 to 1991. Born in 1953, he was an unusually experienced debutant, arriving at Team Lotus at the age of thirty-three.

His rookie year proved to be his best: seven points and twelfth place in the 1987 drivers' championship, driving alongside the team's established stars. He remained with Lotus for three seasons in all, adding a point in 1988 and three more in 1989 as the team's competitiveness declined.

For 1990 he moved to Tyrrell, where he spent his final two seasons, scoring three points in 1990 and two in 1991 and finishing fifteenth in the championship in both years. He retired from Formula 1 at the end of 1991.

Nakajima's career total of sixteen points, spread across points-scoring campaigns in all five of his seasons, reflects a consistent midfield presence — and his role as Japan's pioneer in the championship gives his record a significance beyond the raw numbers.