Japanese
Taito Kato (加藤 大翔, born 25 November 2007 in Taki, Mie) is a Japanese racing driver and one of the most promising graduates of Honda's young-driver pipeline. A member of the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) and a 2023 graduate of the Honda Racing School Suzuka, he is a Honda-backed prospect through and through.
The climb
Kato's foundation was an outstanding domestic karting record, with multiple national series titles in Japan (SL Biwako and Suzuka championships among them) and the EXGEL OK Champ Series crown in 2022. He made the leap into single-seaters in 2024 and announced himself emphatically: contesting the French F4 Championship under the FFSA Academy, he was crowned champion at 16, winning five races and standing on the podium twelve times across the season.
Formula Regional
For 2025 Kato stepped up to the Formula Regional European Championship with ART Grand Prix, finishing 7th overall with 107 points and two podiums. He paired that with a Formula Regional Middle East campaign and a strong fifth place at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix. Ahead of his F3 debut he ran a second Formula Regional Middle East season in early 2026 to sharpen up, taking a win, a pole and a podium.
Formula 3
Kato graduated to the FIA Formula 3 Championship for 2026 with ART Grand Prix, a natural continuation of his FRECA programme with the French squad, lining up alongside Maciej Gładysz and fellow Japanese rookie Kanato Le. He could hardly have started better: on his very first F3 weekend at Albert Park in Melbourne he finished fifth in the sprint and was classified third in the feature race, a debut podium that made him an instant name to watch. The momentum dipped at the next rounds — 11th in the Monaco feature, 9th at Barcelona — and after three rounds he sits 9th in the standings with 18 points, the early promise tempered by a tougher mid-season stretch.
2026 / current season
Now 18, Kato carries genuine expectation as Honda's headline single-seater talent. A dominant French F4 title, two Formula Regional seasons, a Macau top-five and a podium on his F3 debut have built a steady, credible trajectory in Europe. The challenge for the rest of 2026 is to rediscover the form of that Melbourne opener and turn raw one-lap pace — he was fastest at the post-season Barcelona F3 test — into consistent points.