Shinji Nakano (中 野 信 治, Nakano Shinji; Osaka, April 1, 1971) is a Japanese car driver. He made his Formula One debut at Prost in 1997 and participated in 33 Grands Prix. He scored two points.
Before joining Formula One, he drove among others in Japanese Formula 3 and Formula 3000.
Nakano made his Formula One debut at Prost in 1997. He scored as many points as sixth places. After the season, the Mugen-Honda engines were replaced by Peugeot, which also replaced Nakano by Jarno Trulli.
The Japanese found a seat for 1998 at Minardi but only few pots broke. The team had insufficient finances and also had a shortage of speed. He finished his Formula 1 career at the end of the season at the Grand Prix of Japan. He also tested for Jordan in 1999, which also fought with Mugen-Honda engines.
After that, he started working on the Champ Car but without great results. He also took part in Le Mans' 24 hours in 2006 and 2008.
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