Esteban Ocon replaced at Haas for remainder of Mexico City Grand Prix
31st October 2026Haas has confirmed Esteban Ocon will be replaced by Ryo Hirakawa for the rest of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
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Shockingly, on Saturday, Haas has confirmed Ocon will sit out the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend with Hirakawa standing in as his replacement for FP3, qualifying and the race.
The sudden news comes with no reason as to why the replacement has come, but it has been reported the reason is not illness related.
Ahead of Free Practice 3, Haas unexpectedly released their statement. They said:
“TGR Haas F1 Team reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
“Ryō participated in FP1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Friday, his third free practice outing of the season driving the VF-26, finishing 15th overall.
“The Japanese driver will partner teammate Ollie Bearman through final practice and qualifying on Saturday and Sunday’s 71-lap grand prix – marking Ryō’s Formula 1 race debut.
“No further statements will be made at this time.”
Hirakawa has completed multiple FP1 sessions, with the Japanese two-time World Endurance Champion, with the likes of Haas and Alpine, before coming on as the American team’s reserve driver.
More recently, the FP1 rookie took part in Friday’s opening hour of practice, as one of 10 FP1 rookies, and completed the hour in Mexico down in 15th before handing the car back to Ocon for FP2.
Ocon has already been confirmed to not be partnered up with Haas for next season, replaced by Rafael Camara with Oliver Bearman highly suspected to retain his seat for 2027.
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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.
