Japanese Ryo Hirakawa has joined Alpine as certainly one of their two check and reserve drivers this yr.
The 30-year-old, who was a improvement driver for McLaren in 2024, will participate in first follow on the Japanese Grand Prix for the staff on 4 April.
Hirakawa, who raced within the World Endurance Championship with Toyota final yr, can be certainly one of two Alpine F1 reserves together with Estonian Paul Aron, who completed third in Components 2 final yr.
Alpine are additionally in talks with Argentine Franco Colapinto over a job with the staff.
The 21-year-old has been underneath contract with Williams since 2023, and raced within the ultimate 9 grands prix of final season after the staff dropped American Logan Sargeant.
Colapinto, who scored factors within the Azerbaijan and US Grands Prix, impressed Williams and rival groups with the velocity of his adaptation to F1.
Crimson Bull had been contemplating signing him for his or her second staff Racing Bulls in 2025 and had talks with Williams a couple of launch, however their curiosity cooled after a sequence of crashes for Colapinto within the Brazilian and Las Vegas races.
Alpine have continued negotiations and are exploring choices that might see Colapinto be a part of the staff’s driver line-up for 2025.
Alpine have signed Australian rookie Jack Doohan, the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, as a race driver alongside Frenchman Pierre Gasly for this season.
Doohan made his race debut on the ultimate grand prix of 2024 in Abu Dhabi as Alpine sought to optimise his preparations for his debut season.
The 21-year-old certified final and completed fifteenth, whereas Gasly was sixth on the grid and seventh within the race. Doohan was practically 0.5 seconds off Gasly’s tempo within the first a part of qualifying, after which he was knocked out.
If Alpine signed Colapinto, it will give government director Flavio Briatore and staff principal Oliver Oakes an possibility if Doohan didn’t reside as much as expectations in the course of the season.
Hirakawa’s position will embody collaborating in Alpine’s programme involving testing earlier vehicles (TPC). These, which permit groups to run drivers who aren’t racing in F1 in vehicles no less than two years outdated, have grow to be more and more prevalent amongst F1’s restrictions on testing of present equipment.
Oakes stated: “Ryo’s addition brings a various vary of racing expertise to our present roster and expands the pool of expertise obtainable to name upon all through the season.
“His position can be necessary in offering the staff with help in numerous areas of improvement via our TPC programme and simulator work.”
