TGR Haas F1 Team reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa will drive Esteban Ocon’s VF-26 during Free Practice 1 at the Austrian Grand Prix, marking his first session behind the wheel of the 2026 car. The outing at the Red Bull Ring for Round 8 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship fulfills the regulation requiring teams to field rookie drivers in FP1.
Hirakawa, who participated in four practice sessions with Haas during the 2025 season, arrives at the Red Bull Ring fresh off a Le Mans podium finish in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota. He has continued to serve as a key contributor to the team’s Testing of Previous Cars program this season.
“It’s going to be my first FP1 session of the season, and it’s been awhile since I’ve driven around the Red Bull Ring,” Hirakawa said. “I think it’s the perfect track for me to drive the VF-26 for the first time because it has everything — straight lines as well as low- and high-speed corners, so it’s going to be a fun experience.”
The Red Bull Ring features only 10 labeled corners across its 2.7-mile layout, with lap times of approximately 65 seconds making it the shortest lap on the calendar. That compressed time frame means qualifying margins are razor-thin, with several grid rows often separated by just a couple of tenths of a second.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu acknowledged recent struggles while expressing optimism about the busy stretch ahead. “Despite frustrations with our results in the past two events, the benefit of this part of the season is the volume of races we have in a relatively short period of time,” Komatsu said. “We’re heading into another double-header with Austria and Great Britain back-to-back.” He noted the team scored points in four of its first five events this season and stressed the need to recapture that consistency, with four races packed into five weekends before the summer break.
Komatsu praised Hirakawa’s recent form. “He’s coming to us fresh from a Le Mans podium in WEC with Toyota, which was great to see,” the team principal said. “We’re really looking forward to getting his feedback as he hasn’t driven the VF-26 yet.”
Driver Ollie Bearman emphasized the importance of the upcoming races. “As we get into the final two double-headers before the break, there’s a lot we as a team need to accomplish before we can leave for summer satisfied,” Bearman said. “The Red Bull Ring is a fun track to drive, it’s one of the fastest of the year, not to mention the scenery is a standout part of the weekend — we don’t race anywhere prettier.”
Ocon, who will hand his car to Hirakawa for the opening practice session before returning for the remainder of the weekend, said the team has prepared thoroughly. “We know we’ll have to start the weekend strong, execute cleanly, and build up well to qualifying and the race,” Ocon said.
The Austrian Grand Prix holds a long-term future on the calendar after a contract extension signed last year secured the event through the early 2040s. The circuit was revived by late Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz and has hosted Formula 1 continuously since 2014.