McLaren surprises with new reserve driver during Japan GP weekend

McLaren has announced a new reserve driver in the person of Ryo Hirakawa, winner of the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours. The 29-year-old Japanese has joined the Woking-based team's Driver Development programme.

Hirakawa is a driver with a lot of experience and various racing classes. For example, he competed in Super Formula and Super GT and won the Hypercar class title in the 2022 World Endurance Drivers' Championship. He currently leads the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship for 2023 and recently won the 2023 Portimão 6 Hours.

"I’m happy to have joined the McLaren F1 Team as a reserve driver. It’s an exciting prospect to work with such a respected team and I’m grateful to Zak and Andrea for the opportunity. I’ve already met the team and experienced the simulator at MTC which has allowed me to hit the ground running. I’m now fully prepared and focused for the remainder of 2023," said the brand-new reserve driver.

Team boss Andrea Stella is also delighted with Hirakawa's arrival. I’m pleased to welcome Ryo to McLaren Racing as a Formula 1 reserve driver to further strengthen our growing support driver pool. We are thankful to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for their collaboration by allowing Ryo to take on the new role alongside his driving duties."