F1 driver replaced at Austrian Grand Prix as Oliver Bearman handed new team-mate | F1 | Sport
Oliver Bearman will have a new team-mate at the start of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, with Esteban Ocon being replaced for FP1. It’s been a solid start to the season for Haas, who find themselves in seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship standings. They have earned a total of 21 points, putting them 10 points clear of Williams and 41 points behind sixth-placed Alpine.
The vast majority of their points have been won by Bearman, with Ocon contributing just three in total. The experienced Frenchman has been outshone by his British team-mate in recent weeks and has been dealt another blow ahead of the upcoming race in Austria. He will be denied the first hour of practice at the Red Bull Ring, where he will be replaced by another driver.
Ryo Hirakawa, the team’s reserve driver, will step into the cockpit for FP1 alongside Bearman for his first outing of the 2026 season.
He took part in four practice sessions with Haas last season, helping the team fill its quota of rookie driver sessions throughout the campaign.
Ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, the Japanese driver said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and TGR Haas F1 Team for this opportunity.
“It’s going to be my first FP1 session of the season, and it’s been a while since I’ve driven around the Red Bull Ring. I think it’s the perfect track for me to drive the VF-26 for the first time.
“It has everything, straight lines as well as low and high-speed corners, so it’s going to be a fun experience. I’m really excited and I can’t wait to get in there as a 60-minute practice session is so short.
“The aim is to get used to the car as fast as possible and to collect as much data so I can support the team in the best way I can.”
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu added: “It’ll be good to get his feedback as he hasn’t driven the VF-26 yet. He’s coming to us fresh from a Le Mans podium in WEC with Toyota, which was great to see.
“He’s been a key part of our TPC program again this season. As I said though, we’re really looking forward to the next few weeks with four races in five weekends.
“We’re going to be kept extremely busy but that’s the challenge. It’s imperative we keep pushing to be better operationally and deliver the kind of results we know we’re capable of.
“Having scored points in four of the first five events this season, we need to find that level of consistency again.”
