Mexico City Grand Prix · News
Who is Ryo Hirakawa? The road to his Haas F1 debut
From Japanese single-seaters to WEC titles, Ryo Hirakawa’s career has led to an unexpected Formula 1 debut with Haas in Mexico City.
Ryo Hirakawa is set to make his Formula 1 race debut at the Mexico City Grand Prix, after Haas confirmed he would replace Esteban Ocon for the rest of the weekend. The call-up came one day after Hirakawa drove Ocon’s car in FP1. He qualified 19th for his first event.
The 32-year-old arrives in F1 with a long record across single-seaters and endurance racing. His route has included championships in Japan and the World Endurance Championship, before several years of test and reserve duties brought him within reach of a race seat.
Hirakawa built his career across Japanese racing
After starting in karting in Japan, Hirakawa moved into single-seaters in 2010. He progressed through Formula Challenge Japan and the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, winning his first race in the latter before taking the title in 2012.
He stepped up to Super Formula in 2013 after joining the Toyota Young Driver Program. Across nine seasons in the category, he recorded four wins and four pole positions. From 2014 to 2021, he also competed in Super GT’s GT500 class, winning its championship in 2017.
Hirakawa joined Toyota Gazoo Racing in the WEC Hypercar class in 2022. He won the drivers’ championship in his first season, alongside Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. The trio repeated that success in 2023, when the team also claimed its second consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory. Toyota Racing is leading the 2026 standings, with Hirakawa continuing in the series.
Reserve roles and practice outings led to Haas
Hirakawa joined the McLaren Driver Development programme in September 2023 and became a reserve driver. His first FP1 appearance came at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He moved to Alpine as a test and reserve driver for 2025, making his second FP1 start at the Japanese Grand Prix, then switched to Haas soon afterwards.
He completed four more practice runs in 2025 and two in 2026. Those Haas practice appearances preceded the sudden Mexico call-up. Haas’s decision to replace Ocon with Hirakawa puts him on the F1 grid for the remainder of the event.
Hirakawa is the oldest F1 debutant since Andre Lotterer, who was also 32 when he entered the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. Lotterer’s sole F1 appearance ended after one lap due to a mechanical problem. Hirakawa, starting 19th, now has his first opportunity to turn years of varied experience into a race debut.