Ryo Hirakawa: Haas confirms F1 debut at the Mexico City Grand Prix

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Haas has confirmed that Ryo Hirakawa will make his Formula 1 race debut at the Mexico City Grand Prix after the team announced on Saturday morning that the Japanese driver would replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the event. The move comes after Hirakawa had already made several Free Practice 1 appearances in Formula 1, culminating in his step up to the main race weekend in Mexico.

Hirakawa’s path to Formula 1 began in his native Japan, where he started his racing career through karting before graduating to single-seaters in 2010. He then advanced through junior categories including Formula Challenge Japan and the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, where he won on debut and later secured the 2012 title.

In 2013, Hirakawa moved to Super Formula after joining the Toyota Young Driver Program. Over nine years in the series, he recorded four wins and four pole positions, building a reputation as a consistent performer at Japan’s top domestic level.

Outside of single-seaters, he also competed in Super GT’s GT500 class from 2014 to 2021, winning the championship in 2017. That blend of domestic open-wheel success and elite GT experience broadened his skill set ahead of his endurance and international commitments.

From 2022, Hirakawa expanded further by joining the World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class with Toyota Gazoo Racing. Success came quickly: he won the Drivers’ Championship in his debut WEC season alongside teammates Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. Toyota then repeated the Drivers’ Championship in 2023 and also delivered a second consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory during the period described in the Haas-linked career overview.

Hirakawa also has a long-standing connection with Formula 1 team development programmes. In September 2023, it was announced that he joined the McLaren Driver Development programme and would become a reserve driver for the outfit. He made his maiden FP1 appearance for McLaren at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

For 2025, Hirakawa moved to Alpine as a test and reserve driver. His second FP1 appearance came at the Japanese Grand Prix that year, before he switched to Haas soon afterwards. The progression within the same season is reflected in the reported sequence of practice outings: four further FP1 runs in 2025 followed by two in 2026, with the second coming just before the unexpected call-up to the main team.

The timing of the Mexico City replacement was confirmed publicly after Hirakawa took over Ocon’s car during Free Practice 1 in Mexico City. Haas later released a statement confirming that Hirakawa would replace the French driver for the remainder of the weekend, setting up a debut race start for the now 32-year-old.

In terms of age and debut timing, Hirakawa is described as the oldest debutant in Formula 1 since Andre Lotterer in 2014, when Lotterer was also 32 entering the Belgian Grand Prix for what would be his sole Formula 1 event. Hirakawa, who qualified 19th for his maiden Grand Prix, will be looking for a smoother run on Sunday in Mexico City.