Esteban Ocon will not compete in the rest of the Mexican Grand Prix after Haas suddenly replaced him with reserve driver Rio Hirakawa. The decision was announced before the third free practice and qualifying at the “Hermanos Rodriguez“ track.
Haas did not give a specific reason for the change. The team's statement did not mention a medical issue, and the team said it would not be making any further statements on the matter.
“TGR Haas F1 Team reserve driver Rio Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend“, the team said.
Hirakawa will be Olli Bearman's teammate for the third free practice session and qualifying, and will start the 71-lap race on Sunday. The Japanese driver will make his Formula One debut. The replacement has also been approved by the International Automobile Federation.
Hirakawa was originally scheduled to drive only in the first free practice session on Friday. He finished the session in 15th place, after which Ocon returned to the car for the second practice session.
The French driver finished the session in 13th position and was ahead of his teammate Bearman. During the practice, however, tensions arose between Ocon and his racing team over the choice of tires and the lap plan. The radio communication concerned a decision to change from soft to medium tires, after which Ocon expressed his disagreement.
This situation was cited as a possible context for the decision, but Haas has not confirmed that it was the reason for the driver's removal. The only officially confirmed circumstance is that Ocon will not continue his participation in the Mexican racing weekend.
The 32-year-old Hirakawa has been a reserve driver for Haas since 2025. He has two titles in the World Endurance Championship and a victory in the “24 Hours of Le Mans“ in 2022, but has not yet participated in a Formula 1 race.
He now faces qualifying and Sunday's race in Mexico. Haas has not specified whether the change applies only to this weekend, or will have an impact on the next races of the season.