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Haas F1 Team

Breaking: Esteban Ocon sidelined as 32-year-old rookie handed F1 debut in Mexico

Esteban Ocon has been withdrawn from the Haas F1 team for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.

H Irakawa
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Ryo Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, Haas has confirmed.

The 32-year-old driver will drive Ocon's VF-26 from final practice onwards, meaning Sunday's 71-lap race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will mark his Formula 1 race debut.

Hirakawa will line up alongside team-mate Oliver Bearman for the remainder of the event. Haas gave no official reason for Ocon's withdrawal.

Hirakawa has already driven for Haas this weekend, as on Friday, he took part in the first free practice session as part of the mandatory rookie outings F1 teams must provide.

He finished the session 15th overall, with a best lap of 1:19.982.

The 32-year-old joined Haas as reserve driver in 2025, having previously held similar roles at McLaren and Alpine.

His position with the American-owned outfit sits alongside the team's wider technical partnership with Toyota Gazoo Racing. 

Hirakawa remains a frontline factory driver for Toyota in endurance racing, where he won the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans and claimed back-to-back FIA World Endurance Championship titles in 2022 and 2023 before adding a third title to his tally this year.

His outing on Friday in Mexico with Haas was his third of the year, adding to the four he had with the team last year.

With his entry on Sunday, Hirakawa is set to be the second-oldest rookie driver of the 21st century, trailing only Andre Lotterer for Caterham at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

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BREAKING Esteban Ocon sidelined as 32-year-old rookie handed F1 debut in Mexico