McLaren gave us an exciting surprise in Singapore, now, with Ryo Hirakawa joining the ranks we have new surprise this weekend. Earlier, they were sharing Mick Schumacher as a reserve driver with Mercedes but since F1 testing will require a driver with less than two years of experience in F1, McLaren need a proper reserve driver.
As such, they have introduced us to a new name in F1 and surprisingly it’s none other Ryo Hirakawa. We will be seeing him joining the team and help McLaren on Simulator Tests.
Who is Le Mans winner Ryo Hirakawa?
Ryo Hirakawa maybe a new name to Formula 1 but to the racing world he’s a well established driver and he has had fair share of achievements and power packed performances over the years. This gives him ‘a resume’ powerful enough to enter the world of F1.
Ryo is the winner of 24 hours of Le Mans 2022 and Hypercar world Driver’s Endurance Championship along Sebastian Buemi and Brendon Hartley. He joined in McLaren Driver Development program and will be a part of the ‘papaya’ team. Ryo currently races for Toyota Gazoo Racing in FIA World Endurance Championship, a well established team in this category.
Ryo was born in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture and joined karting at the age of 13. He won his first karting championship in just his second year in karting (2008 all Japan Junior Kart racing championship). He is the youngest ever champion at 18 years in Japanese F3 and Carrera Cup.
Ryo has competed in both Super Formula and Super GT series with flying colors.
Ryo Hirakawa officially joins McLaren as reserve F1 driver
His pedigree in the Endurance Championship landed him this role for 2024 and McLaren officially announced his arrival on his social media channels.
His entry in the team just before the advent of Japanese GP has been well received so far and appeased Japanese fans a lot.
On the other hand, some people were wondering about Pato O’Ward who was supposedly going to become their reserve driver. Many people speculated why this would have happened, but some people suggested simple solutions like he will be sharing the seat later on like Stoffel Van Doorne and Felipe Drugovich.
It seems like McLaren has got an interesting and surely varied lineup in its reserve lineup. Hopes are running high for the Japanese GP and people are expecting to have an equally adrenaline filled race this time in Japan.
