Kondo, who took over as chairman of Super Formula promoter JRP this month, made the comments at an informal media gathering ahead of last weekend’s Suzuka race.

The former racer and current team owner Kondo Racing, which competes in both Super Formula and Super GT, said previous attempts to schedule such events had failed because of the series’ reluctance to race in F1’s shadow.

However, amid the championship’s increased profile, Kondo believes attitudes have changed enough to make a deal with F1 a possibility.

“Super Formula is Japan’s top sport, so there was a time when the series was too proud to finish second in F1,” Kondo said. “Like, ‘Why should we be number two in F1?’

“But now I think everyone’s thinking has become more flexible, and it’s not going to be a problem.”

Kazuto Kotaka, KONDO RACNG

Photography: Masahide Kamio

Kondo believes that exposing Super Formula to a wider audience could potentially boost the Japanese series’ dwindling track attendance in recent years.

“At an F1 race, there are thousands of fans,” he said. “I was thinking, if we could show off Super Formula in front of so many fans, it would be great if some of them could come to our last race after F1 (also in Suzuka).

“But it’s not just up to me. We have to have a lot of meetings… It’s just that, as a fan of Super Formula, I hope it happens.”

At the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix, four cars, then known as Formula Nippon, were demonstrated.

A pair of Toyota-powered cars, the cars of Andrea Caldarelli (Kondo Racing) and Yuji Kunimoto (Inging), and two Honda-powered cars driven by Takashi Kobayashi (Real Racing) and Daisuke Nakajima (Nakajima Racing) participated in the simulation two One-lap race on the morning of the Main Event.