PRESS RELEASE.
Fabienne Racing salutes the promotion of Ryo Hirakawa, Haas reserve driver, at the Mexican Grand Prix, in place of Esteban Ocon. The Japanese driver is 32 and is contesting his first Formula 1 race. The Philippeville outfit sees this as confirmation of its doctrine: the pathway has no upper age limit, only a calendar.
“At Fabienne Racing, we have a project, and that project does not look at the birth certificate,” says the team principal. “Ryo Hirakawa has run free practice sessions for seasons, and he ran another the day before, according to Sporza. He was a reserve at McLaren, under contract at Alpine, then at Haas. He won Le Mans in 2022. That’s a career. We call it the programme.”
The team notes with interest that Haas has confirmed Esteban Ocon is not ill and will make no further statement. “We respect that communication, we practise it too,” says the team principal. “When we’re asked why the gazebo wasn’t up on Sunday, we make no further statement.”
Fabienne Racing also notes that Esteban Ocon will be replaced after the season by the young Brazilian Rafael Camara. The team does not see a seat opening up: the seat is already taken, which is called planning, and it offers its congratulations.
Florian is ready. He always has been. The team remains open to discussions, including for a reserve role, which has now proved that it leads somewhere, given a little patience.
About Fabienne Racing: one driver, one kart, one Dacia, one project.
It’s true, we checked: Sporza.
