Reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa joins the Haas Formula 1 team effective immediately. The Japanese driver has spent the last three months on the bench at Alpine, after previously being under contract with McLaren. In Japan, the 31-year-old Le Mans winner took the wheel of Jack Doohan’s car during the first free practice. In Bahrain, Hirakawa will take charge of a training session with Haas for the first time.
The new rules regarding training sessions stipulate that all Formula 1 teams must put a rookie in the car four times a year. Haas reports that it wants to use Ryo Hirakawa to meet this requirement, starting with the Bahrain GP. Later this year, the Japanese driver will also be in action during the first practices in Spain, Mexico, and Abu Dhabi. In Bahrain, Oliver Bearman must make way for Haas’s latest acquisition; in Barcelona and Abu Dhabi, Esteban Ocon will give up his car.
The collaboration between Haas and Ryo Hirakawa is hardly surprising. The American racing team has a Japanese team boss, Ayao Komatsu, and has maintained a technical partnership with Toyota since last year. The 31-year-old Hirakawa currently drives the Toyota GR010 Hybrid in the hypercar class of the WEC championship.
‘Can’t Wait’
“I am delighted to join the Haas Formula 1 team,” Hirakawa responded in an official press release. “I appreciate this opportunity and am really looking forward to starting a new journey with the team. I will be in action for the first time during the first free practice in Bahrain – it’s great to compete in two Formula 1 race weekends in a row, so I can’t wait.”
Ryo Hirakawa joined Alpine as a test and reserve driver in January, after one year under the tutelage of McLaren. Now that he is moving to the Haas team, Alpine is relying on Formula 2 stars Paul Aron, Franco Colapinto, and Kush Maini. “It’s great to welcome Ryo to the team,” said team boss Ayao Komatsu. “It will do the team good to give him some track time on four different circuits.”
