Ryō Hirakawa[]
Ryō Hirakawa (平川 亮, born 7 March 1994, in Kure, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese professional racing driver. He currently competes for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and serves as a Formula 1 reserve driver. Hirakawa began karting at the age of thirteen and rapidly established himself as one of Japan’s most promising young drivers. He won the All-Japan Junior Kart Championship in 2008 and placed runner-up in the All-Japan Kart Championship in 2009. After progressing through Formula Challenge Japan, he entered the Japanese Formula 3 Championship in 2012. In his debut season he claimed the title, becoming the youngest champion in series history. That same year he also won the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, further underlining his versatility and talent in different categories.
Super Formula and Super GT[]
In 2013 Hirakawa made the step up to Japan’s premier single-seater championship, Super Formula. Over the course of his career in the series he raced for teams including Team LeMans and Team Impul, securing four wins, four pole positions and five fastest laps. His strongest campaign came in 2020 when he finished as runner-up in the championship standings. Parallel to his single-seater exploits, Hirakawa also established himself as a front-runner in the GT500 class of the Super GT Championship. Driving for TOM’S, he won the 2017 championship and remained a consistent podium finisher throughout his time in the series.
FIA World Endurance Championship[]
Hirakawa graduated to international endurance racing in 2022, joining Toyota Gazoo Racing in the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship. He made an immediate impact, finishing on the podium in his first race before winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year alongside Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. The trio went on to secure the WEC Drivers’ Championship in 2022, while Toyota claimed the Manufacturers’ title. Hirakawa and his teammates repeated their drivers’ championship success in 2023, while the marque retained the manufacturers’ crown through 2024.
Formula One involvement[]
Hirakawa’s performances in endurance racing earned him recognition in Formula One. In 2024 he joined McLaren as a reserve driver under their Driver Development Programme. His duties included extensive simulator work, private testing, and he made his first official Formula One practice outing during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In early 2025 he signed with Alpine as the team’s test and reserve driver, taking part in the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme and driving in the first practice session of his home race at the Japanese Grand Prix. Later in 2025 he transitioned to Haas, who appointed him as their official reserve driver. Under the arrangement, Hirakawa is scheduled to appear in multiple FP1 sessions across the season, including at Bahrain, Spain, Mexico, and Abu Dhabi.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Pts. | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 |  McLaren F1 Team
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McLaren-Mercedes | Test/Reserve Driver | ||
| 2025 |  BWT Alpine F1 Team
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Alpine-Renault | Test/Reserve Driver | ||
 MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
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Haas-Ferrari | ||||
Career Statistics[]
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pts | Pos |
| 2024 | 
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| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||