Ryo Hirakawa Haas F1 debut Mexico Grand Prix qualifying, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Ryo Hirakawa competed in his first Formula 1 qualifying session with Haas at the Mexico Grand Prix, replacing Esteban Ocon at short notice. The Japanese driver, a WEC champion and Le Mans winner, finished 19th in Q1, 0.875 seconds behind his teammate Ollie Bearman.
Hirakawa completed a compressed FP3 session, and he said that traffic from Alex Albon in the middle sector cost him aerodynamic load and the chance to fight for a place in Q2. The technical challenge for Hirakawa was adapting to the behavior of the Haas car without sufficient prior running.
The compressed FP3 limited the data he could gather on tires and aerodynamic balance settings on a high-altitude circuit such as Mexico City’s.
Albon’s traffic in the middle sector reduced the load on the front axle and affected Hirakawa’s quick lap. Ayao Komatsu praised his adaptation to the car and to the qualifying procedure despite the lack of track mileage.
