Ryo Hirakawa made his Formula 1 qualifying debut for Haas after receiving late notice that he would replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the weekend. The Japanese driver qualified 19th and was disappointed not to reach Q2 after traffic affected his final attempt.

The 32-year-old was not completely unfamiliar with the Haas VF-26. He had driven in FP1 and completed extensive mileage in Haas cars during testing and previous F1 sessions. However, the short preparation window still left him facing an unusually demanding debut.

Hirakawa used FP3 to complete a compressed programme that included a short long-run exercise, practice starts, qualifying simulations and pit-lane work. He also worked closely with race engineer Laura Mueller as he refined his procedures before qualifying.

Both Haas drivers made three runs in Q1. Hirakawa was 0.330 seconds slower than Ollie Bearman on his first attempt and 0.304s down on the second. The main difference came in the final sector, which includes the stadium section and the last corner, where Hirakawa said any loss of control was costly.

On his final run, Hirakawa improved his personal best in the first and third sectors but encountered Alex Albon ahead in the middle sector. Although Albon did not directly block him, the resulting aerodynamic turbulence cost Hirakawa time through the high-speed corners.

“I had traffic from Turn 6 and also in the high-speed sections, so I lost a lot of downforce,” Hirakawa said. “It was, I would say, easy to reach Q2, which is a shame for me, but still it’s nice to be here, so I can’t complain much.”

A comparison of his sector times suggests that the claim was credible. If Hirakawa had matched the improvement Bearman made between his first two runs in the affected middle sector, his overall lap could have placed him 15th. That would have been enough to eliminate Carlos Sainz instead, although the margin would have been just 0.066 seconds.

The projection is not definitive proof that Hirakawa would have advanced, but it indicates that Q2 was within reach. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu also believed the driver had performed strongly given the circumstances.

“Ryo was drafted into the car last minute, and I think considering that, he’s done a really good job,” Komatsu said. “It’s a shame that he had traffic in the worst possible place, in the high-speed corners. I don’t know if he could’ve made it to Q2, but it would’ve been close.”

Hirakawa now faces a more complicated challenge in the race, with limited preparation and several new experiences ahead. Asked what would constitute a good Sunday, he focused on executing the basics: “good start, good first corner, a lot of new things, so just execute and do my best.”

Sources: The Race.