After two solid but inconclusive seasons in Formula 2, a move to Super Formula was exactly what Lawson needed to fully convince Red Bull of his qualities as a genuine F1 prospect, and he stunned the Japanese establishment with a historic debut win at Fuji.
That was the first of three victories, but a penalty, a strategic blunder and a very costly crash at Motegi ended up denying him the title.
When he was parachuted into AlphaTauri after Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand at Zandvoort, Lawson immediately impressed, and outscored Yuki Tsunoda in their five races together. Another Red Bull opportunity will surely loom.
Ralf Schumacher (1996)
Coming to Japan off the back of success in German Formula 3, the younger brother of Michael (himself a one-time Japanese Formula 3000 starter) joined the series for its first season under the Formula Nippon moniker with Team LeMans.
With three victories, Schumacher edged out team-mate Naoki Hattori and Japanese racing legend Kazuyoshi Hoshino to win the title and book his ticket to F1 with Jordan.
Loic Duval (2006)
When Andre Lotterer was snapped up by Toyota, Honda-aligned Nakajima Racing needed another fast European to fill the breach. Step forward Loic Duval, who was scouted by Satoru Nakajima in Macau after the Frenchman’s heroics there in 2005.
Like Schumacher, Duval won his second race in Formula Nippon, and while he could only muster fourth overall, he blew team-mate Hideki Mutoh out of the water.
Stoffel Vandoorne (2016)
Source: Autosport