Taito Kato
Native name加藤 大翔
Birth date25 November 2007 (age 18)
Birth placeTaki, Mie, Japan[1]
Taito Kato
NationalityJapanese
Current seriesFIA Formula 3 Championship
First year2026
Current teamART Grand Prix
Starts2
Wins0
Podiums1
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Updated15 March 2025
Best finishTBD
Year2026
Prev seriesFR European
French F4
Prev series years2025
2024
TitlesFrench F4
Title years2024

Taito Kato (加藤 大翔, Katō Taitō, born 25 November 2007) is a Japanese racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for ART Grand Prix as part of the Honda Formula Dream Project.

Born and raised in Taki, Mie, Kato is the 2024 French F4 champion. He moved up to the Formula Regional European Championship with ART Grand Prix in 2025, finishing seventh overall.

Career

Karting

Kato mainly karted in Japan, but made his debut overseas in 2022 by competing in a single round of the FFSA Karting Championship as a guest driver.[citation needed] He finished second in the finale but was not classified in the overall standings.[2][3] Kato also competed in the South Garda Winter Cup in 2023, finishing 12th in the finale of the OK category.[4]

Formula 4

In 2024, Kato appeared on the entry list of the 2024 French F4 Championship, under the wing of the Honda Formula Dream Project.[5][6] He scored two podiums from two races on his debut weekend at Nogaro, establishing himself as a title contender.[7][8] In the following weekend at Lédenon, Kato secured his first victory after starting race three from pole position.[9][10] Kato then scored his second win and finished all three races on the podium in round three at Spa-Francorchamps.[11][12] Kato continued to fight for the championship, and with three more victories following suit, Kato was crowned French F4 champion after a controversial conclusion to the 2024 season.[13][14] Despite this intense battle for the title, Kato commented that himself and fellow title contender Yani Stevenheydens "respected each other" during the championship fight.[15]

Formula Regional

2025

In 2024, after his successes in Formula 4, Kato was announced to be competing in the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship and 2025 Formula Regional Middle East Championship with ART Grand Prix.[16]

2026

In preparation for his Formula 3 campaign, Kato competed in the opening three rounds of the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy with ART Grand Prix.[17]

FIA Formula 3

In 2026, Kato moved up to Formula 3 for with ART Grand Prix, alongside Kanato Le and Maciej Gładysz.[18]

Karting record

Karting career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamPosition
2015SL Biwako Series - KID'SHIGUCHI RT1st
2016SL Rainbow Series - CadetsHKC3rd
2017SL Biwako Series - CadetsHKC1st
2018All-Japan Junior Karting Championship - FP-Jr CadetsFA-KART RT+HKC5th
Suzuka Championship Series - FP-Jr Cadets1st
2019JAF Junior Karting Championship - FP-JrFA-KART RT+HKC3rd
2020Suzuka Championship Series - Junior MaxSRS Kotira Racing3rd
ROTAX Max Series - Junior MaxHRS JAPAN25th
EXGEL NEXT CUP?
2021All-Japan Karting Championship - FS-125HRS JAPAN2nd
2022EXGEL OK CHAMP SeriesHRS JAPAN1st
All-Japan Karting Championship - OKPONOS HIROTEX RACING7th
FFSA Karting Championship - JuniorNC†
2023South Garda Winter Cup - OKWard Racing12th
Sources:[19][20][21][22][23][24]

Racing record

Racing career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
2024French F4 ChampionshipFFSA Academy20545122801st
2025Formula Regional Middle East ChampionshipART Grand Prix1500017512th
Formula Regional European Championship2000021077th
Macau Grand Prix100005th
2026Formula Regional Middle East TrophyART Grand Prix811014911th
FIA Formula 3 Championship20001164th*
  • Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year123456789101112131415161718192021DCPoints
2024NOG
1

2
NOG
2

C
NOG
3

3
LÉD
1

2
LÉD
2

5
LÉD
3

1
SPA
1

2
SPA
2

1
SPA
3

3
NÜR
1

8
NÜR
2

4
NÜR
3

4
MAG
1

3
MAG
2

8
MAG
3

2
DIJ
1

1
DIJ
2

11
DIJ
3

1
LEC
1

1
LEC
2

5
LEC
3

9
1st280

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship/Trophy results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrant123456789101112131415DCPoints
2025ART Grand PrixYMC1
1

6
YMC1
2

14
YMC1
3

7
YMC2
1

3
YMC2
2

22
YMC2
3

18
DUB
1

9
DUB
2

12
DUB
3

10
YMC3
1

11
YMC3
2

12
YMC3
3

6
LUS
1

7
LUS
2

6
LUS
3

13
12th75
2026ART Grand PrixYMC1
1

5
YMC1
2

Ret
YMC1
3

DNS
YMC2
1

14
YMC2
2

11
YMC2
3

8
DUB
1

1
DUB
2

11
DUB
3

5
LUS
1

LUS
2

LUS
3

11th49

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearTeam1234567891011121314151617181920DCPoints
2025ART Grand PrixMIS
1

5
MIS
2

17
SPA
1

10
SPA
2

3
ZAN
1

15
ZAN
2

8
HUN
1

12
HUN
2

9
LEC
1

3
LEC
2

13
IMO
1

6
IMO
2

8
RBR
1

14
RBR
2

14
CAT
1

6
CAT
2

8
HOC
1

9
HOC
2

6
MNZ
1

4
MNZ
2

4
7th107

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

YearTeamCarQualifyingQuali RaceMain Race
2025ART Grand PrixTatuus F3 T-3184th5th5th

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrant123456789101112131415161718DCPoints
2026ART Grand PrixMEL
SPR

5
MEL
FEA

3
MON
SPR

MON
FEA

CAT
SPR

CAT
FEA

RBR
SPR

RBR
FEA

SIL
SPR

SIL
FEA

SPA
SPR

SPA
FEA

HUN
SPR

HUN
FEA

MNZ
SPR

MNZ
FEA

MAD
SPR

MAD
FEA

4th*16*
  • Season still in progress.

References

  1. ^ "デビュー戦、いきなり2位 フランスF4 三重・多気町の加藤君(16)" (in Japanese). YoMotto. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Championnat de France". Kartcom. 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  3. ^ "Championnat de France". Kartcom. 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  4. ^ "Winter Cup". Kartcom. 2023-01-22. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  5. ^ "Pilotes F4 – FFSA Academy". Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  6. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-01-12). "French F4 publishes entry list and calendar for 2024 season". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  7. ^ Gascoigne, Roger (2024-03-31). "Stevenheydens takes lights-to-flag win in French F4 opener at Nogaro". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  8. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-04-01). "Jules Caranta takes French F4 points lead with Nogaro win". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  9. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-05-12). "Honda junior Kato gets French F4 lead with Ledenon race three win". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  10. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-05-10). "Taito Kato and Chester Kieffer share French F4 poles at Ledenon". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  11. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-06-22). "Kieffer and Kato claim French F4 wins in mixed conditions at Spa". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  12. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-06-23). "Jules Caranta wins safety car-filled race to boost French F4 title hopes". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  13. ^ "Results F4 – FFSA Academy". Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  14. ^ "Taito Kato becomes French F4 Champion". honda.racing. 8 October 2024.
  15. ^ Wolff-Taffus, Perceval (2024-11-25). "Kato: Stevenheydens and I 'respected each other' despite French F4 title drama". Feeder Series. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  16. ^ "Japanese Driver Taito Kato Joins ART Grand Prix for 2025". ART Grand Prix. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  17. ^ "ART confirms Taito Kato for the opening rounds of the 2026 FRMEC season". ART Grand Prix. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Taito Kato joins ART Grand Prix for 2026 season". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  19. ^ "Driver: Taito Kato | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  20. ^ "Kato Taito". Kartcom. July 2022. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  21. ^ "EXGEL OK CHAMP 2022 – ファイナルレポート" [EXGEL OK CHAMP 2022 - Final Report]. EXGEL Motorsport. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  22. ^ "2022 全日本カート選手権 OKクラス ポイントランキング" [2022 All-Japan Karting Championship OK Class Point Ranking]. kart.jp. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  23. ^ "2020 ROTAX MAX SERIES POINT RANKING". festika-mizukami.com. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  24. ^ "2019年 ジュニアカート選手権" [2019 Junior Karting Championship]. JAF (Japan Automobile Federation). Retrieved 11 December 2024.