Ryō Hirakawa

Ryō Hirakawa brings extensive championship-winning experience, versatility and technical depth to his role as Official Reserve Driver with TGR Haas F1 Team.

The Japanese driver began karting in 2007 and rapidly established himself as one of Japan’s most promising young drivers. He won the All-Japan Junior Kart Championship in 2008 and was runner-up in the All-Japan Kart Championship the following year.

In 2009, he attended the Formula Toyota Racing School and was the youngest driver in history to obtain a JAF International Limited A license at age 16. He graduated to single-seaters in 2010, primarily competing in the Formula Challenge Japan series where he finished sixth in his first season, finishing on the podium twice across the 11 races.

He remained in Formula Challenge Japan in 2011, securing his first race win in the sixth round at Fuji Speedway. He finished runner-up in the series, and returned for a third year in 2012 where he also came second.

Simultaneously Hirakawa stepped up to the Japanese Formula 3 Championship where he immediately impressed, winning his debut race in the category. He went on to win seven of the first nine races and clinched the championship in the penultimate round. An appearance at the Macau Grand Prix followed with RSS, where he qualified 24th, but had to retire from the race due to a collision.

That same year Hirakawa also won the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan where he proved his versatility across different categories and became the youngest champion in the series.

The step up to Japan’s premier single-seater championship, Super Formula, followed in 2013 after he joined the Toyota Young Driver Program. He competed with multiple teams throughout the course of his two stints in the series. After three years, Hirokawa stepped away from Super Formula, before returning again in 2018.

His strongest campaign came in 2020 where he finished the year second in the championship standings. Hirakawa’s nine years in the series saw him secure four wins and four pole positions.

Parallel to his single-seater outings, Hirakawa also established himself in Super GT in the GT500 class. Driving for TOM’S, he was a consistent front-runner, taking the 2017 title and three second place finishes in the following three years. He remained a regular podium finisher throughout his time in the championship with seven wins and 14 further podiums.

The shift to prototypes came in 2016, where he competed in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series. He won his first race at the 2016 4 Hours of Imola before following that with a consecutive win at the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring. Hirakawa also competed in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016, where he was in contention for a class podium before his teammate suffered an accident in the early hours of the Sunday.

He joined G-Drive Racing in ELMS in 2017, winning the second round, 4 Hours of Monza before securing the LMP2 Teams’ championship at the end of the season.

In 2022, Hirakawa stepped up into the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing partnering veteran drivers Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. In his debut for the team he scored a podium at the 1000 Miles of Sebring before going on to win pole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and converting it into a victory.

A successful year with a further win and two podiums saw Hirakawa and the #8 car crew secure the Drivers’ Championship. In 2023, the team went on to win back-to-back WEC titles, standing on the podium in all but one round across the season.

In 2024, alongside his WEC commitments, Hirakawa joined the McLaren F1 Team as Official Reserve Driver, supporting the team in simulator development and testing programs. His first official Formula 1 FP1 came during the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. That year he secured fourth in the WEC standings, taking two wins in São Paulo and Bahrain.

He signed with Alpine as Official Test and Reserve Driver in 2025, driving in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix, before transitioning to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team later in the year as Official Reserve Driver. He appeared in multiple FP1 sessions alongside his full time drive in WEC, where he finished the season in 7th.

Hirakawa will remain driving with Toyota Racing in WEC in 2026 alongside his Reserve Driver duties for TGR Haas F1 Team.

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Birthdate

March 7, 1994

Birthplace

Hiroshima, Japan

Nationality

Japanese

Accolades

2025

FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Finished 7th in championship with 66 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Round 8 at 8 Hours of Bahrain

FIA Formula 1 World Championship with Haas F1 Team
• Served as Official Reserve Driver for team from April 2025
• Participated in four FP1 sessions in Bahrain, Spain, Mexico City and Abu Dhabi

FIA Formula 1 World Championship with BWT Alpine F1 Team
• Served as Official Reserve Driver for team till April 2025
• Participated in FP1 at Japanese Grand Prix

2024

FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Finished 4th in championship with 109 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 5 and 8 at 6 Hours of Sao Paulo and 8 Hours of Bahrain

FIA Formula 1 World Championship with McLaren F1 Team
• Served as Official Reserve Driver for team
• Participated in FP1 at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

2023

FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Finished 1st in championship with 172 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 2 and 7 at 6 Hours of Portimao and 8 Hours of Bahrain

Super Formula with Itochu Enex Team Inpul
• Finished 5th in championship with 58 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Round 7 at Motegi

2022

FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing
• Finished 1st in championship with 149 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 3 and 5 at 24 Hours of Le Mans and 6 Hours of Fuji

Super Formula with Carenex Team Inpul
• Finished 3rd in championship with 87 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 1 and 4 at Fuji and Autopolis

2021

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 7th in championship with 46 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Round 8 at Fuji

Super Formula with Carenex Team Inpul
• Finished 4th in championship with 46 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Rounds 2 and 7 at Suzuka

Super Taikyu - ST-Z with Hiroshima Toyopet Racing
• Finished 10th in championship with 35 points
• Best race finish: 3rd in Round 1 at Motegi

2020

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 2nd in championship with 67 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 1 at Fuji

Super Formula with Itochu Enex Team Inpul
• Finished 2nd in championship with 60 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 1 at Motegi

2019

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 2nd in championship with 83 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 8 at Motegi

Super Formula with Itochu Enex Team Inpul
• Finished 10th in championship with 12 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 5 at Motegi

2018

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 2nd in championship with 75 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 7 at Autopolis

Super Formula with Itochu Enex Team Inpul
• Finished 5th in championship with 17 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Round 5 at Motegi

2017

European Le Mans Series with G-Drive Racing
• Finished 4th in championship with 73 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 2 at Monza

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 1st in championship with 84 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 1 and 7 at Okayama and Chang

2016

European Le Mans Series with Thiriet by TDS Racing
• Finished 5th in championship with 70 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 2 and 3 at Imola and Spielberg

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 9th in championship with 38 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Round 1 at Okayama

2015

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S
• Finished 5th in championship with 56 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 1 and 8 at Okayama and Motegi

Super Formula with Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans
• Finished 8th in championship with 13 points
• Best race finish: 4th in Round 5 at Autopolis

2014

Super GT - GT500 with Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S
• Finished 20th in championship with 8 points
• Best race finish: 5th in Round 3 at Autopolis

Super Formula with Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans
• Finished 8th in championship with 16.5 points
• Best race finish: 2nd in Round 4 at Fuji

Super Taikyu - ST-1 with KeePer Tomei Sports
• Finished 1st in championship with 111 points
• Best race finish: 1st in class in Round 3 at Fuji

2013

Super Formula with Kygnus Sunoco Team LeMans
• Finished 11th in championship with 9 points
• Best race finish: 4th in Round 7 at Suzuka

2012

Japanese Formula 3 Championship with RSS
• Finished 1st in championship with 118 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 1, 3, 4 and 5 at Suzuka, Fuji, Motegi and Okayama

Formula Challenge Japan with FTRS Clarion Hiroshima Toyopet
• Finished 2nd in championship with 91 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Rounds 1, 2, 4 and 5 at Fuji, Motegi and Suzuka

Macau Grand Prix with KCMG by RSS
• Qualified 24th
• Race finish: DNF

Porsche Carrera Cup Japan with GARMIN Porsche
• Finished 1st in championship with 7 wins

2011

Formula Challenge Japan with FTRS Clarion FCJ
• Finished 2nd in championship with 73 points
• Best race finish: 1st in Round 3 at Fuji

2010

Formula Challenge Japan with Clarion FCJ
• Finished 6th in championship with 17 points
• Best race finish: 3rd in Round 3 at Fuji