Ryo Hirakawa will make a shock F1 debut at the age of 32 later today (Sunday November 1) as he replaces Esteban Ocon for Haas at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Japanese star gets a surprise opportunity to join the big leagues at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (2pm local, 8pm UK) after the shock news of Ocon's replacement broke on Saturday.

He jumped into the car for FP3 at short notice before qualifying in P19, though resulting penalties mean he gets promoted to P18 on the starting grid.

The early years and title success in Japan

Hirakawa began making a name for himself in 2008 when he became junior karting champion in Japan, and he made his auto racing debut in 2010.

After two seasons in Formula Challenge Japan, he moved up to Japanese Formula 3 and in 2012 he immediately clinched the championship - winning seven out of 15 races.

Hirakawa's success earned him a spot in Toyota’s junior driver program, and a move to the highly competitive Super Formula series. Between 2013 and 2023, he secured four race victories and was runner-up in the championship in 2020.

Hirakawa excels in sports car racing

Hirakawa also began to focused on sports car racing and from 2014 to 2021, he drove for Lexus (Toyota’s luxury brand) and Toyota itself in the GT500 class of the Super GT series. He won the 2017 championship alongside Nick Cassidy before finishing second in the standings for the following three consecutive seasons.

Hirakawa also competed in nine races in the European Le Mans Series, winning three of them. His skills in the LMP2 cars in ELMS and GT500 machinery earned him a seat with Toyota’s Hypercar team in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

He became world champion in both 2022 and 2023 and in his first championship year, he also won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Currently, with one race remaining in the 2026 season, Hirakawa and team-mates Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley lead the world championship. They hold a 17-point advantage over Toyota’s other entry driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries.

The season finale, the 6 Hours of Monza, is scheduled for Sunday November 8.

Test days and Free Practice in Formula 1

Despite never having competed in a Grand Prix before, Hirakawa already has considerable experience in Formula 1. Alongside multiple TPC tests and Young Driver tests, the 32-year-old from Kure, Hiroshima has logged numerous free practice sessions.

In 2024, he participated in FP1 for McLaren in Abu Dhabi. The following year, he took part in FP1 for Alpine at his home race in Suzuka.

Since the closer collaboration began between Toyota Gazoo Racing and Haas early last year, Hirakawa has completed seven FP1 sessions for Haas: in Bahrain, Spain, Mexico City, and Abu Dhabi in 2025, as well as Austria, Hungary, and Mexico City this season.

At 32 years old, he is the oldest Formula 1 debutant since André Lotterer, who raced in a single Grand Prix for Caterham in 2014.

It remains unclear whether Hirakawa will race again next week in Sao Paulo or focus on Toyota’s fight for the WEC title.