One of the most satisfied spectators at last weekend’s Formula E race in Tokyo was the man who first drove an electric racing car on the streets of Japan’s capital. Back in 2015, former F1 driver Sakon Yamamoto, who made his only Formula E race start in London that year, conducted a street demo in the Roppongi district.
It took almost a decade – and a location switch from the heart of the city to a more remote exhibition centre area – for the category to finally run a race in Tokyo. And Yamamoto played a role by encouraging the local authorities to allow it to happen. That’s because after his racing career ended, he followed in the footsteps of the likes of Carlos Reutemann and Patrick Tambay in moving from F1 to politics, taking up public office as a member of Japan’s house of representatives.
Now 41, Yamamoto had an unusual career. He started 21 grands prix spread across three bursts of seven in 2006,
