Yuji Ide

Yuji Ide, born on January 21, 1975, is a Japanese racing driver with a career spanning various motorsport categories. Ide began his racing journey in karting in 1990, achieving early success by winning the Kantou National Cup Kart Championship in 1991. He further honed his skills in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship before transitioning to sports car racing.

Ide's career highlights include finishing as runner-up in the 2005 Formula Nippon season and winning the 2010 Suzuka 1000km race. He also competed in Super GT, securing a win in the 2010 Pokka GT Summer Special. However, he is perhaps most known for his brief and controversial stint in Formula One with the Super Aguri team in 2006.

His time in F1 was short-lived, lasting only four races before being demoted to third driver and subsequently losing his FIA Super Licence. Despite the challenges and criticisms he faced in Formula One, including being named one of the worst F1 drivers in history by some, Ide has continued to race in various series in Japan, demonstrating his dedication to motorsport. Some argue that his F1 performance was hampered by a lack of testing, language barriers, and driving an uncompetitive car.