F1: Ryo Hirakawa Departs Alpine to Join Haas as Official Reserve Driver

Haas F1 Team has signed Japanese endurance racer Ryo Hirakawa as its reserve driver for the 2025 season. Hirakawa, aged 31, moves from Alpine, where he also worked as a reserve driver. He made his Formula 1 weekend debut earlier this year at the Japanese Grand Prix, taking part in Friday practice for Alpine. The switch to Haas comes through a technical partnership with Toyota, Hirakawa’s current endurance team. He will support Haas for the rest of the 2025 season, combining reserve duties with rookie free practice sessions.

Hirakawa will take part in every Haas’ rookie practice sessions in 2025. He will start his duty from the Bahrain Grand Prix, driving Oliver Bearman’s car. He will return for sessions in Mexico, Barcelona, and Abu Dhabi. This plan gives Hirakawa more F1 track time and prepares him for his full reserve role in 2025.

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Ryo Hirakawa said: 'I'm excited to join MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, I really appreciate this opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to a new journey with the team. I'm driving my first FP1 session in Bahrain, so for me to have driven at two race weekends in a row is exciting, and I can't wait to get to Bahrain. I would like to thank Komatsu-san, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, Morizo-san (Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation) and Toyota GAZOO Racing for this opportunity, it's a new challenge for me and I can't wait to get started.”

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu Said: 'It's great to welcome Ryo to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and have his experience bolster our knowledge and understanding of the VF-25. His feedback was very detailed at the post-season test last year, so being able to provide Ryo valuable track time across four different circuits this year will help the entire team. As part of our collaboration with Toyota GAZOO Racing, it's great to welcome new talent into the team – it's a real pleasure to work with a racer of his driving acumen.'

Japanese racing driver Ryo Hirakawa started his Formula 1 journey in 2023 with McLaren. He later connected with the Haas F1 Team through a test session in Abu Dhabi. These steps are part of Toyota’s strategy to give its top drivers Formula 1 experience despite the company not racing as a factory team since leaving F1 in 2009.

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Ryo Hirakawa’s involvement with Haas also supports the technical partnership between Toyota and the Formula 1 team. This collaboration helps develop young drivers and brings added value through shared knowledge and technology. It reflects a growing trend of using F1 partnerships to boost driver development and team performance.