Oliver Bearman will line up alongside a new team-mate for the first practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, as Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa replaces Esteban Ocon for FP1 at the Red Bull Ring.
Haas’s Season So Far
Haas currently sits seventh in the Constructors' Championship with 21 points, 10 points clear of Williams and 41 points behind sixth-placed Alpine. The majority of those points have been scored by Bearman, with Ocon contributing only three points. The experienced Frenchman has been outperformed by his British team-mate in recent races and will miss the opening hour of practice in Austria.
Ryo Hirakawa’s Return
Ryo Hirakawa, Haas’s reserve driver, will step into the cockpit for his first FP1 session of the 2026 season. He took part in four practice sessions with the team last year, helping Haas fulfil its quota of rookie driver sessions. Ahead of the weekend, Hirakawa said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and TGR Haas F1 Team for this opportunity. It’s going to be my first FP1 session of the season, and it’s been a while since I’ve driven around the Red Bull Ring. I think it’s the perfect track for me to drive the VF-26 for the first time. It has everything, straight lines as well as low and high-speed corners, so it's going to be a fun experience. I’m really excited and I can’t wait to get in there as a 60-minute practice session is so short. The aim is to get used to the car as fast as possible and to collect as much data so I can support the team in the best way I can.”
Team Principal’s Comments
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu added: “It’ll be good to get his feedback as he hasn’t driven the VF-26 yet. He’s coming to us fresh from a Le Mans podium in WEC with Toyota, which was great to see. He’s been a key part of our TPC program again this season. As I said though, we’re really looking forward to the next few weeks with four races in five weekends. We’re going to be kept extremely busy but that’s the challenge. It’s imperative we keep pushing to be better operationally and deliver the kind of results we know we’re capable of. Having scored points in four of the first five events this season, we need to find that level of consistency again.”
Looking Ahead
Haas has scored points in four of the first five races of 2026, and the team aims to rediscover that consistency during a busy stretch of four races in five weekends. Hirakawa’s FP1 outing will provide valuable data as the team continues to develop the VF-26.
