Hirakawa, who currently races in both Super Formula and the World Endurance Championship as a Toyota driver, was unveiled as the latest addition to McLaren’s pool of reserve drivers at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
McLaren stated upon the announcement that the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours winner will join its simulator programme and drive its 2021 car, the MCL35M, as part of his new role.
The news inevitably raises questions of how Hirakawa’s schedule for 2024 will look, with the F1 calendar set to comprise a record-breaking 24 races next year.
As things stand, six of the seven officially confirmed Super Formula dates clash with F1 grands prix, while there are six conflicts with WEC events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours test day that precedes the French endurance classic.
That would leave Hirakawa available for exactly half of the 24 grands prix, but Motorsport.com understands the possibility of Super Formula being dropped from his schedule has been discussed within Toyota – which would potentially free him up for 18 races.
McLaren’s press release announcing Hirakawa’s appointment notably confirmed he will continue to race in the WEC, but made no mention of Super Formula.
Besides increasing the chances of a call-up to a McLaren race drive in the event either of the team’s regular drivers Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri are unable to race, there are obvious benefits in terms of scheduling as it would reduce the need for travel between Europe and Japan.
Hirakawa relocated to Monaco at the start of the year and currently commutes to take up his Team Impul seat in Super Formula.
As well as freeing up Hirakawa to attend more F1 races in his new role, it would also give him more availability to participate in sim sessions and on-track running in McLaren’s 2021 car.
The 29-year-old made his first trip to the McLaren simulator in Woking earlier this month, and is now preparing for his first taste of the MCL35M, set to take place in the coming weeks at an undisclosed circuit in Europe.
It’s unclear whether Hirakawa will get any opportunities to drive a current McLaren F1 car as part of his role in 2024.
Author’s view: Super Formula worth sacrificing for F1 dream
In some ways, it might seem odd that a driver who turns 30 next season would consider calling it quits on racing in the fastest single-seater outside of F1 for what remains a slim chance at being called up by McLaren for a grand prix debut.
After all, Hirakawa will be one of several reserve options, with the Woking squad already having access to Mercedes’ (Mick Schumacher) and Aston Martin’s back-ups, (Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Drugovich), while IndyCar racer Pato O’Ward could be another potential addition to the pool.
But, on the other side of the coin, Hirakawa has arguably proven all he can in Super Formula, having been Toyota’s championship spearhead since 2020 (even if TOM’S driver Ritomo Miyata has usurped him in that role for this season).
Impul’s form has taken a dive with the introduction of the SF23 chassis, and while the looming switch to common dampers in 2024 offers a chance of a revival, there’s no guarantee that things will change significantly next season.
Despite becoming best known to European fans for his exploits in the WEC and Le Mans since last year, Hirakawa has never fully given up on his F1 dream and the appeal of maximising his presence in the grand prix paddock is obvious – not to mention the downsides of being stretched thin across three programmes.
And even if the McLaren role ultimately leads nowhere, it’s easy to picture Hirakawa returning to Super Formula at a later stage in his career.
In the short-term, the prospect of Hirakawa leaving Super Formula is bad news for Team Impul, which could be forced into its first driver line-up change since 2017.
It will be fascinating to see whether Toyota elects to reshuffle its driver line-ups, or whether Impul looks to hire a high-profile outsider, in such a scenario.
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