Haas confirm Hirakawa FP1 debut for Bahrain GP
8th April 2025Haas F1 Team has confirmed that their newest arrival, reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa, will participate in the opening practice hour of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Alpine Media
Earlier this week, it was announced that Hirakawa moved over to Haas as their reserve driver from the Alpine pool, having taken part in the opening hour of practice at his home race, the Japan Grand Prix, last weekend.
Following the news, it was announced that the driver will be back in action his weekend with the team as he will take over Oliver Bearman’s seat in the opening hour of practice at the Bahrain GP.
Haas also confirmed this will be the first of four scheduled practice outings for Hirakawa. Ahead of the event, Haas F1 Team Principal, Ayao Komatsu, said:
“We will have Ryō Hirakawa making his FP1 debut with us. We were very impressed with him when he drove for us in Abu Dhabi, so it’s great to welcome him back to the team.
“The Sakhir circuit always offers an exciting race at night with many overtakes, so we’re looking forward to building on our solid performance last weekend.”
It will also mark the first time the sport returns to the venue part-way through a season, having moved around the calendar to accommodate Ramadan.
It will also be the first time F1 has raced at the event where it is not the season-opener, as it has been in recent years, thanks to the pandemic.
Last time the sport was in Bahrain, it was the three-day pre-season test, in February. Komatsu has claimed ‘a lot has happened during that time,’ but believes they will have a better understanding of the car.
“We come back to Bahrain, the venue of pre-season testing and even though it was only five weeks ago that we were last here, a lot has happened during that time, as usual in Formula 1,” Komatsu continued.
“We had our low in Australia, followed by a double points finish in Shanghai, and a P10 in Suzuka.
“I feel we’re coming back here with a much better understanding of the car, and actually as a better team. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new parts that we brought to Suzuka perform here.”
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
