Hirakawa promoted to P10 after penalties on F1 debut in Mexico

Ryo Hirakawa’s Formula 1 debut ended with a points finish in Mexico City: he crossed the line 13th, then rose to 10th after post-race time penalties for Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.

“I’m really happy, today was my dream,” Hirakawa said. The 32-year-old had been called up by Haas on Saturday morning to replace Esteban Ocon, having already taken part in Free Practice 1 as a designated rookie.

He qualified 19th and started one place higher because of Liam Lawson’s penalty. Hirakawa said he took too much margin at the start because he wanted to finish the race and learn; he described the start and first lap as difficult.

“Maybe the first stint was really tough, we didn’t have the pace but I learnt a lot,” he said. After the safety car, Hirakawa said he felt more confident on the C5 tyre and passed two cars.

Haas had yet to confirm its line-up for Brazil, while Hirakawa had originally been scheduled to race for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, where the title remained up for grabs. He said the Mexico outing might prove to be his only F1 start and that he wanted to savour the moment.