Kean Nakamura-Berta

Kean Nakamura-Berta (Japanese: 中村 紀庵 ベルタ, Hepburn: Nakamura Kian Beruta; born 12 November 2007) is a Japanese and Slovak racing driver who most recently competed in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy for Mumbai Falcons as part of the Williams Driver Academy.

Born and raised in London to a Slovak father and Japanese mother, Nakamura-Berta began competitive kart racing aged seven. After a successful karting career—culminating in his victories at the World Championship in 2021 (OK-J) and the European Championship in 2022 (OK)—Nakamura-Berta graduated to junior formulae. A member of the Alpine Academy from 2022 until 2024 in Formula 4, he was runner-up in the 2024 UAE Championship and dominated both the Italian and E4 Championships in 2025. He won the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy in 2026.

Nakamura-Berta was born in London to a Japanese mother and a Slovak father. Nakamura-Berta lived in Japan until the age of five, when he moved back to London.

Nakamura-Berta has had a very successful karting career. He took his first European title at the IAME International final at Le Mans in 2019 in the X30 Mini Category. For 2020, he joined the 60 Mini category. He came second in the WSK Euro Series, and second in the WSK Super Master Series. In 2021, he joined the OK-Junior category, and in October, he won the Karting World Championship in the category. By the end of the season, Nakamura-Berta was competing in the OK category, and he won his first OK title at the South Garda Winter Cup. In 2022, he won the Karting European Championship, controversially beating his Kart Republic teammate Alex Powell. For 2023, Nakamura-Berta continued in OK Karting whilst making some KZ2 appearances. He came second in the OK category in Champions of the Future, and came sixth in KZ2 in the World Cup and European Championship.

At the end of 2023, Nakamura-Berta made an appearance at the final two rounds of the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship with Prema Racing. He claimed two pole positions, three fastest laps and a best finish of second over the course of six races.

Nakamura-Berta racing at the Mugello Circuit during the 2024 Italian F4 Championship

During the winter, Nakamura-Berta competed in the Formula 4 UAE Championship. He opened his account by scoring his first single-seater victory during the first race in Yas Marina, before earning a double podium for the second Yas Marina round. Another double podium followed in the first Dubai round, but his title hopes were hampered by a double retirement in the next round. He managed to take another win and a second place in the Dubai second round, which allowed him to finish runner-up in the standings to Freddie Slater.

Nakamura-Berta racing at the Red Bull Ring during the 2024 Euro 4 Championship

For his main campaign, Nakamura-Berta would be competing in both Italian F4 and Euro 4 for Prema Racing for the coming season. In the first half of the season, he only took one podium during the opening round in Imola, but was able to take his first win in a damp race in Paul Ricard. He earned three more podiums following that and placed sixth in the standings, missing out on the rookie title to Alex Powell by six points. In Euro 4, Nakamura-Berta had a more successful campaign, racking up one win in Monza and ended third in the overall standings, as well as being the rookie champion.

Nakamura-Berta returned to Middle East during the off-season, racing in the F4 Middle East Championship with Mumbai Falcons. He started with a triple second place across all three rounds during the opening Yas Marina round, He continued his consistent form throughout the next rounds by scoring podiums in five of the next six races, but a win continued to elude him as he was pipped by Alex Powell in the final race of the Dubai round. However, Nakamura-Berta broke his duck by taking his first win of the year during the third Yas Marina round following a penalty for Emanuele Olivieri. With a further podium in Qatar, Nakamura-Berta finished third in the standings with one win and ten podiums.

Nakamura-Berta continued in Formula 4 for his main campaign in 2025, remaining with Prema Racing to contest Italian F4 and the E4 championships with them.

In 2022, Nakamura-Berta became an Alpine Affiliate, and in 2023 he became a fully-fledged member of the Alpine Academy. He was dropped from the academy at the end of 2024.

In January 2026, Nakamura-Berta joined the Williams Driver Academy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kean Nakamura-Berta career summary at DriverDB.com