Haas replaces Ocon with Hirakawa for the rest of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend — BBC Sport

The Haas team has replaced French driver Esteban Ocon with Japanese reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend in Mexico. Ocon took part in Friday practice, but on Saturday the team said Hirakawa would drive the car on Saturday and Sunday, BBC Sport reports.

Replacement for the rest of the weekend

Haas did not specify the reasons for the decision. A team representative said the replacement was not related to Ocon being ill. The French driver will leave Haas at the end of the current season.

Before the team’s decision, during the second Friday practice session, Ocon and his race engineer Laura Müller had a disagreement over the tyre choice for a race stint simulation. Müller said the team was switching to medium tyres because Ocon’s teammate Oliver Bearman’s run on soft tyres had not been very successful. Ocon insisted on using the soft compound. Haas did not comment on whether the driver replacement was related to this episode.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Hirakawa’s debut

Ryo Hirakawa’s appearance in Mexico City will be the 32-year-old Japanese driver’s Formula 1 Grand Prix debut. On Friday, he had already driven Ocon’s car in the first practice session. Hirakawa won the World Endurance Championship twice with Toyota, which is Haas’ technical partner and title sponsor.

Next year, Ocon is expected to be replaced at Haas by Brazilian rookie Rafael Camara, who is part of Ferrari’s driver development programme.