Ryo Hirakawa scored first F1 point in Haas debut
NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 2, 2026
Hirakawa debut
Ryo Hirakawa made his Formula 1 race debut for Haas at the Mexico City Grand Prix, and the 32-year-old Japanese driver needed only one weekend to leave a mark. Haas called him up to replace Esteban Ocon for the rest of the weekend, then had him move into the race seat just hours before qualifying. The switch put Hirakawa into one of the sport’s most demanding situations, but it also gave him a long-awaited chance to turn years of support work and endurance success into a grand prix start. Before Formula 1, he built his résumé in karting, Japanese Formula 3, Super Formula, Super GT and the World Endurance Championship. He won the 2022 World Endurance Championship drivers’ title and helped Toyota win Le Mans in 2022 and 2023. Hirakawa also spent time as a reserve or test driver for McLaren, Alpine and Haas, a path that kept him close to the paddock while he waited for a race opportunity. He had already driven in Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 3 before qualifying, and his Free Practice 1 run was his third FP1 outing of the season in the VF-26. He finished 15th in that session, a solid start to a weekend that kept asking more of him every time Haas changed his assignment.
Haas call-up
Haas did not ease Hirakawa into the weekend. The team asked him to take over after Ocon and then immediately put him on the clock for qualifying, where he missed out on a spot in Q2 and lined up 19th. Hirakawa called the call-up a “dream come true,” a direct reflection of how quickly the situation changed and how much the opportunity meant to him. He also pointed to traffic on his final Q1 lap as a frustration. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu backed that view, saying Hirakawa had done a strong job and likely would have been close to advancing to Q2. That assessment fits the way the weekend unfolded. Hirakawa had limited preparation time in a race seat, then had to absorb the pressure of a qualifying session with little margin for error. Even so, he delivered enough speed to keep the team encouraged. For Haas, the decision gave the squad another look at a driver it already knew well from reserve and test work. For Hirakawa, it turned a sudden promotion into a credible showing on one of the biggest stages in motorsport.
Hirakawa point
Hirakawa turned that debut into a point, even if the result shifted after the checkered flag. He originally finished 13th on the road, then post-race penalties for Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly moved him into the points. That gave Hirakawa his first Formula 1 point on his very first race start. He became Formula 1’s oldest debutant since Andre Lotterer. Hirakawa was 32, and Lotterer was the last driver of that age to make a debut in the championship. The point capped a weekend that began with a late call into the race seat and moved through practice sessions, qualifying pressure and a race that kept changing after the finish. It also added another line to a career that already included major endurance success. Hirakawa arrived in Formula 1 with wins, titles and factory experience behind him, then converted his Haas debut into a points finish. For a driver who had spent years working his way through support roles and top-level endurance programs, the first grand prix point was the clearest sign yet that his long route to Formula 1 had finally reached the grid.
