At 32, Ryo Hirakawa is set to make his Formula 1 race debut β replacing Esteban Ocon at Haas for the rest of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
His road to F1 was anything but ordinary:
π 2012 β All-Japan Formula 3 champion
π 2017 β Super GT GT500 champion (with Nick Cassidy, #37 Lexus LC 500)
π 2022 β 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (#8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID, with SΓ©bastien Buemi & Brendon Hartley)
π 2022 & 2023 β FIA World Endurance champion with Toyota
π§ 2024 β McLaren reserve, first F1 practice outing in Abu Dhabi
π§ 2025 β Alpine reserve (FP1 at Suzuka), then Haas reserve from April
On Friday 30 October he drove the Haas in FP1 in Mexico, finishing 15th after 30 laps. Ocon returned for FP2. On Saturday 31 October, Haas announced Hirakawa would take Ocon’s seat for final practice, qualifying and Sunday’s race. The FIA approved the change for this event, with Hirakawa in car #50.
Haas has not given a reason for the switch.
Visuals are illustrative 3D recreations β no official liveries or footage. Information as of 31 October 2026.
#Shorts #F1 #Formula1 #Haas #Hirakawa #MexicoGP #FactDiveDaily
source
