Hirakawa is nowhere near F1's oldest debutants despite being 32

Hirakawa, a two-time World Endurance Champion and winner of the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, will make his first Grand Prix start on Sunday, 1 November, aged 32 years, seven months and 25 days. He will become the oldest driver to make his F1 race debut since André Lotterer, who was 32 years and nine months old when he replaced Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham for the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

The record belongs to Belgian driver Arthur Legat, who made his World Championship debut at the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix aged 53 years, seven months and 21 days.

Legat was already an experienced competitor when he entered his home race at Spa-Francorchamps in a privately entered Veritas. He qualified 21st and finished 13th, five laps behind race winner Alberto Ascari. His only other World Championship appearance came at the same circuit in 1953, when he retired.

Philippe Étancelin follows in second place, having contested the inaugural World Championship race at Silverstone in 1950 aged 53 years, four months and 15 days. The Frenchman, who won the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans, finished eighth in his first F1 championship race.

German driver Adolf Brudes completes the top three. He was 52 years and nine months old when he made his only World Championship appearance at the 1952 German Grand Prix, retiring with an engine failure after five laps.

The top ten also includes Luigi Fagioli, who finished second in the inaugural British Grand Prix and subsequently became F1's oldest race winner at the 1951 French Grand Prix, aged 53.

Louis Chiron is another notable name. The Monegasque driver was already 50 when he debuted at Silverstone in 1950, before becoming the oldest driver ever to start a World Championship race at Monaco in 1955, aged 55 years and 292 days.

The historical figures reflect the different circumstances surrounding the beginning of the championship. Many competitors in 1950 were established Grand Prix drivers whose racing careers stretched back to the years before the Second World War.

The youngest driver in the historical top ten of oldest debutants is Ernst Klodwig, who was 49 when he made his first appearance at the 1952 German Grand Prix. Hirakawa's upcoming debut therefore remains well outside the all-time top ten, despite being one of the oldest newcomers of the modern era.