Esteban Ocon to miss Austrian Grand Prix FP1 as Haas reserve steps in
Haas driver Esteban Ocon faces the media at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix
Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will drive Esteban Ocon’s car in FP1 at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, the team has announced.
Hirakawa has served as Haas’s reserve since last year, having joined the team on the back of Haas’s technical partnership with Japanese manufacturer Toyota in late 2024.
Esteban Ocon to sit out Austrian Grand Prix FP1
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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.
Under F1 regulations, teams are required to field a rookie driver – defined as a driver who has started no more than two grands prix – on four occasions, two in each car, over the course of a season.
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.
Esteban Ocon vs Oliver Bearman: Haas head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season
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Hirakawa’s latest FP1 outing comes after he finished third for Toyota at the recent Le Mans 24 Hours, an event he won in 2022.
This year’s race saw the sister Toyota – driven by former F1 drivers Nyck de Vries and Kamui Kobayashi, as well as Mike Conway – win to end Ferrari’s recent dominance at Le Mans.
It emerged last year that Hirakawa paid McLaren $3.5million (£2.6m/€3m at current exchange rates) to drive in FP1 at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hirakawa’s 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.
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 (£9.1m/€10.5m) in damages.
Haas has enjoyed an encouraging start to the F1 2026 season, scoring 21 points across the opening seven races.
Oliver Bearman has been responsible for 18 of those points with Ocon limited to three so far.
Last month, Ocon and team principal Ayao Komatsu were forced to dismiss false rumours that the pair fell out at the Miami Grand Prix.
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.
He said: “Honestly, I don’t know where that story came from. No idea.
“This Brazilian journalist was quoted, but I have no idea. No foundation whatsoever, absolute bulls**t.
“If somebody wants to write that kind of bulls**t, feel free. But f**king hell, is that journalism?
“I have no idea, it’s terrible. What are they trying to achieve? It’s crazy. No foundation whatsoever.”
He added: “I spoke to him this morning, but, for me, there’s nothing to defend from our side whatsoever.
“Part of it [the report] says that, apparently, I had some issue with Esteban in Miami.
“Where’d that come from? I didn’t even have a single argument with Esteban in Miami.
“It’s just amazing how completely this bulls**t gets smoked up and then, because nobody checks the source, everybody just writes on top of it.
“How is that journalism? It’s just f**king bulls**t gossip.”
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