Who is Ryo Hirakawa, the 32-year-old rookie replacing Esteban Ocon at Haas?

Haas has handed Ryo Hirakawa his long-awaited Formula 1 race debut, drafting the 32-year-old Japanese reserve into the VF-26 for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend in place of Esteban Ocon. He partners Oliver Bearman from final practice through Sunday's race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Why it matters:

Mid-weekend driver swaps are rare, and Haas offered no explanation for this one. Hirakawa arrives with a serious CV from Japan and endurance racing but zero grand prix starts, making him one of the oldest debutants of the modern era. The move also lands on a driver in Ocon who is already leaving the team at the end of the season.

The details:

• Haas confirmed the change but did not confirm it was illness-related, leaving Ocon's absence unexplained.
• Hirakawa ran the VF-26 in FP1 on Friday and finished 15th. Ocon returned for FP2 and ended the session 13th.
• Ocon had a tense radio exchange with race engineer Laura Mueller over tyre strategy in FP2, though there is no confirmed link between that and the decision.
• Ocon departs at the end of 2026, with Ferrari junior Rafael Camara already signed to replace him in 2027.
• Hirakawa's record: Japanese F3 and Porsche Carrera Cup Japan titles in 2012, four Super Formula wins with a 2020 runner-up finish, and the Super GT500 crown in 2017 with TOM'S.
• Endurance pedigree: He joined Toyota's No. 8 crew alongside Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley in 2022, winning Le Mans and the WEC drivers' title that year, then defending the championship in 2023.
• F1 route: McLaren reserve in 2024, including an FP1 debut in Abu Dhabi; Alpine test and reserve duties in 2025; a switch to Haas in April 2025 as the team's Toyota relationship deepened, yielding four practice outings that year and three FP1 sessions in 2026.

What's next:

Haas has committed to the switch only for Mexico, so Ocon's status for Brazil and the season finale remains open. For Hirakawa, it is a single-shot audition in race conditions after years of waiting — and a chance to show the grid what the endurance side of the Toyota programme can produce.