Ryo Hirakawa passed both Williams cars in the closing laps in Mexico City, while Ollie Bearman was out after being hit from behind at Turn 4, Haas said.
On 1 November 2026 Ryo Hirakawa took 13th place on his Formula 1 debut in Mexico City, Haas said, overtaking both Williams drivers late on. His team mate Ollie Bearman went out of the race when Audi's Nico Hulkenberg ran into the back of his car at Turn 4.
Haas said Ryo Hirakawa classified 13th on his Formula 1 debut at the Mexico City Grand Prix, while team mate Ollie Bearman retired after contact at Turn 4. The race was the 19th round of the 2026 season, run over 71 laps at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
How Hirakawa's first race went
Hirakawa made his first grand prix start from 18th on the grid, on medium tyres, and gained a place on the opening lap before a fight with Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls. He changed to softs on lap 36, and soon afterwards the race was halted because of barrier damage from Valtteri Bottas' heavy crash. He took the standing restart on lap 47 from 17th, and pitted again on lap 57 during the Safety Car period caused by Arvid Lindblad crashing at Turn 2.
Restarting 15th, he got past Williams' Sainz and Albon in the final laps and was classified 13th. He said he had taken too much margin at the start because his aim was to finish and learn, and that his confidence grew after each Safety Car. "Today was my dream," he said.
Bearman taken out
Bearman started 14th on softs and moved up to 12th, then passed Gabriel Bortoleto into Turn 1 for 11th after 19 laps. He pitted on lap 40 for mediums just before the red flag, and took the standing restart from 11th. Haas said he was then rear-ended into Turn 4 by Audi's Hulkenberg, who was issued a time penalty. The damage to Bearman's VF-26 was too significant for him to continue.
Bearman said the pace was great and that he was running in the points when he was taken out. Team Principal Ayao Komatsu called the result disappointing but the team performance decent, said race pace with Bearman was good and quicker than Audi, and said Bearman did everything correctly at Turn 4.
What we know so far
- Hirakawa classified 13th, passing both Williams cars late in the race.
- Bearman retired after contact with Hulkenberg, who received a time penalty.
- Haas is seventh in the Constructors' Championship on 30 points.
- The next round is the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with the race on Sunday November 8.
