Ryo Hirakawa set for F1 debut as Esteban Ocon denies being in ‘physical altercation’

Haas has announced that Esteban Ocon will not drive for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. Reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will take over Ocon's seat for qualifying and Sunday's race after having participated in Friday's first practice session. Hirakawa, a 32-year-old two-time world endurance champion and Le Mans 24 Hours winner with Toyota, will be making his F1 debut.

Ocon issued a statement on social media denying reports of a physical altercation with team principal Ayao Komatsu. While L'Equipe reported that a meeting between the two ended abruptly and potentially physically, Ocon stated that a difference in viewpoints led to a discussion but categorically rejected allegations of physical violence.

The decision to bench Ocon follows a dispute during Friday's second practice session regarding tyre choice. According to Yahoo Sports, Ocon disagreed with race engineer Laura Mueller after being informed that plans to use soft-compound tyres had changed to medium tyres. Haas previously announced that Ocon would leave the team at the end of the season, with Rafael Câmara confirmed to replace him.

Brief written by urgent.news from Japan Times, Yahoo Sports, Motorsport.com, SB Nation — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.