‘My target is to win races’ – Kato on stepping up to Formula 3 with ‘family’ ART

27 November 2025

Taito Kato is hopeful that he and ART Grand Prix can fight for race wins and possibly a Championship, as he prepares to step up to Formula 3 in 2026.

The Japanese driver has made a solid start to his single seater career, winning the 2024 French F4 title, before finishing seventh in the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship with ART.

Kato also competed in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship earlier this year with the French outfit, and most recently, they finished fifth at the Macau Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old is now preparing to step up with ART, and he got his first taste of the Formula 3 car at the post-season tests in Jerez, Barcelona, and Imola.

“ART Grand Prix is like my family and I am really happy to be working with the team as well,” said Kato. “This year we have been working together in FRECA, and we built a good relationship and I am looking forward to working with the team as well and I think we can do a good as well next year.

“The F3 car was really impressive. It's much faster than the FRECA car, it has much more grip and much more power. It’s a higher level as well, as it's really tight in lap time between P1 and P10, so you can't make a mistake.

Kato got his first taste of Formula 3 machinery at the post-season tests in Jerez, Barcelona and Imola

“So it’s a lot more intense than FRECA, but it's really good. The car was amazing, much more grip, especially Qualifying over one lap. I was able to adjust to the car, so I think next year we can be really good.”

Kato was also asked what surprised him about the F3 car and while he noted the downforce and cornering speed as being much more than he was used to, the amount of grip available to him in the tyre definitely caught him off guard.

In addition to that, the ART driver was learning how best to prepare his tyres for a Qualifying lap and how to manage them during a race stint, all with the help of the team.

“The team have a lot of information and data,” he explained. “So they gave me a lot of information and helped me a lot on how to use the tyres, how to warmup the tyres, and how to do tyre management, they gave me a lot.

“But for sure I am a rookie next year, so I am still learning from the tests into the race weekends for the future.”

The Japanese driver is keen to fight at the front in 2026

Kato will not be the only rookie in the ART lineup this year as he will be joined by Kanato Le and Maciej Gladysz, and he revealed what his relationship is like with both and how much he is looking forward to working with them in 2026.

“Maciej is a really good guy,” said Kato. “Kanato has always been this shy guy, but Maciej is a really happy guy. Kanato has been getting better and better since FRMEC this year. He was really shy and I could not have conversations with him, but by the end of the season it was okay.

“The last round was quite good, we have a good relationship, and I think next year will be really good with him. Maciej, a really good guy, he's quick actually. I am looking forward to working with him and the team.”

Kato says a lot of his focus over the next few weeks heading into the 2026 season will be on physical training as he looks to get ready for the challenge of racing a bigger car. The Japanese driver is hopeful that this will help him achieve his targets next year.

“My target is to win races,” concluded Kato. “I think we will improve each round with the team and finally we will have to target getting the Championship. But for now, let’s focus on getting the race win.”