Toyoda says Hirakawa’s Grand Prix debut fulfilled 17-year dream

Akio Toyoda says Ryo Hirakawa’s Grand Prix debut fulfilled a dream he had held for 17 years: seeing one of Toyota’s drivers race in Formula 1 again. In a letter to Hirakawa, the Toyota chairman linked the moment to Toyota’s withdrawal from F1 in 2009.

Hirakawa, a Toyota-backed World Endurance Championship driver and Haas’s official reserve, had already made several FP1 appearances. At the Mexico City Grand Prix, he drove FP1 on Friday. After Esteban Ocon was dropped, Hirakawa was suddenly called up for FP3 and qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Toyoda wrote that Hirakawa had little time to prepare but showed the pace to fight for a place in Q2 and kept pushing in the race.

Hirakawa finished 10th and scored a point on his competitive debut. Toyoda said the result may not have been what Hirakawa hoped for, but praised his confidence and determination. Seeing Hirakawa line up on the F1 grid, Toyoda wrote, made one of his own dreams come true.

Toyoda recalled that Hirakawa had promised not to give up after a setback in his pursuit of a full-time race seat. He said the driver kept preparing without knowing whether an opportunity would come. Toyoda also thanked Gene Haas, Ayao Komatsu and the TGR Haas team for their trust and support.