Haas have confirmed Ryō Hirakawa will be behind the wheel for them in FP1 in Bahrain, taking the place of Ollie Bearman in Friday practice.

Hirakawa recently joined the team as reserve driver, having been one of Alpine’s reserve pool at the start of the season, and he will be straight into the VF-25 this weekend in Sakhir.

Ryō Hirakawa to take in first Haas FP1 in days following Alpine switch

Fresh from an FP1 outing at his home race in Japan at the weekend, Hirakawa has made the move across to Haas, with the Toyota endurance star set to take in four FP2 sessions with the team this season.

The first of these will be in place of Bearman in Bahrain, the scene of pre-season testing back in February.

Hirakawa already has experience behind the wheel of a Haas, having driven last year’s VF-24 in post-season testing in Abu Dhabi in December, having also been reserve driver at McLaren in 2024.

This move will be the first of two mandatory rookie FP1 sessions for Haas in 2025, with the team having confirmed they will go beyond the minimum level with Hirakawa – as they did with Bearman himself last season.

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Team principal Ayao Komatsu said ahead of the weekend: “We come back to Bahrain, the venue of pre-season testing and even though it was only five weeks ago that we were last here, a lot has happened during that time, as usual in Formula 1.

“We had our low in Australia, followed by a double points finish in Shanghai, and a P10 in Suzuka. I feel we’re coming back here with a much better understanding of the car, and actually as a better team.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the new parts that we brought to Suzuka perform here. We will have Ryō Hirakawa making his FP1 debut with us.

“We were very impressed with him when he drove for us in Abu Dhabi, so it’s great to welcome him back to the team.

“The Sakhir circuit always offers an exciting race at night with many overtakes, so we’re looking forward to building on our solid performance last weekend.”

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