Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will drive Esteban Ocon\u2019s car in FP1 at this weekend\u2019s Austrian Grand Prix, the team has announced.<\/p>\n
Hirakawa has served as Haas\u2019s reserve since last year, having joined the team on the back of Haas\u2019s technical partnership with Japanese manufacturer Toyota in late 2024.<\/p>\n
Esteban Ocon to sit out Austrian Grand Prix FP1<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n The 32-year-old, who previously participated in practice sessions for McLaren and Alpine, made a total of four FP1 appearances for Haas last season, representing the team in Bahrain, Spain, Mexico and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n Under F1 regulations, teams are required to field a rookie driver \u2013 defined as a driver who has started no more than two grands prix \u2013 on four occasions, two in each car, over the course of a season.<\/p>\n Haas has confirmed that Hirakawa will make his first FP1 appearance of the F1 2026 season this weekend, deputising for Ocon at the Red Bull Ring.<\/p>\n Esteban Ocon vs Oliver Bearman: Haas head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season<\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n Hirakawa\u2019s latest FP1 outing comes after he finished third for Toyota at the recent Le Mans 24 Hours, an event he won in 2022.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s race saw the sister Toyota \u2013 driven by former F1 drivers Nyck de Vries and Kamui Kobayashi, as well as Mike Conway \u2013 win to end Ferrari\u2019s recent dominance at Le Mans.<\/p>\n It emerged last year that Hirakawa paid McLaren $3.5million<\/a> (\u00a32.6m\/\u20ac3m at current exchange rates) to drive in FP1 at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Hirakawa\u2019s fee included two TPC (Testing of Previous Car) outings behind the wheel of a previous McLaren F1 car to prepare for his practice appearance in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n The revelations emerged during the court case involving McLaren and its former reserve driver Alex Palou, which ended with McLaren being awarded in excess of $12m (\u00a39.1m\/\u20ac10.5m) in damages<\/a>.<\/p>\n Haas has enjoyed an encouraging start to the F1 2026 season, scoring 21 points across the opening seven races.<\/p>\n Oliver Bearman has been responsible for 18 of those points with Ocon limited to three so far.<\/p>\n Last month, Ocon and team principal Ayao Komatsu were forced to dismiss false rumours that the pair fell out at the Miami Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Sources indicated to PlanetF1.com that there was no truth to the claims, with Komatsu angrily addressing the reports at the following race in Canada.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know where that story came from. No idea.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Brazilian journalist was quoted, but I have no idea. No foundation whatsoever, absolute bulls**t.<\/p>\n \u201cIf somebody wants to write that kind of bulls**t, feel free. But f**king hell, is that journalism?<\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea, it\u2019s terrible. What are they trying to achieve? It\u2019s crazy. No foundation whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI spoke to him this morning, but, for me, there\u2019s nothing to defend from our side whatsoever.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of it [the report] says that, apparently, I had some issue with Esteban in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019d that come from? I didn\u2019t even have a single argument with Esteban in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just amazing how completely this bulls**t gets smoked up and then, because nobody checks the source, everybody just writes on top of it.<\/p>\n \u201cHow is that journalism? It\u2019s just f**king bulls**t gossip.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n