Formula 1: Franco Colapinto joins Alpine as reserve driver after Williams release

Colapinto made his debut at the Italian Grand Prix in early September and impressed Williams and rival teams with the speed of his adaptation to F1.

Interest from a number of Argentine sponsors keen to back Colapinto increased his attractiveness to teams.

Red Bull were considering signing him for their second team Racing Bulls in 2025 and had talks with Williams about a release, but their interest cooled after a series of crashes for Colapinto in the Brazilian and Las Vegas races.

But Alpine maintained their pursuit and have tempted him away with a long-term deal.

The announcement on Thursday made no mention of a potential race seat for Colapinto, but his joining Alpine increases the pressure on their rookie driver Jack Doohan, who they have signed for a race seat in 2025 alongside Pierre Gasly.

The Frenchman, who won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix for Red Bull’s second team, joined Alpine for 2023 and last year signed a new deal that lasts until at least the end of 2026.

Doohan, the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, made his race debut at the final grand prix of 2024 in Abu Dhabi as Alpine sought to optimise his preparations for his debut season.

The 21-year-old qualified last and finished 15th, while Gasly was sixth on the grid and seventh in the race. Doohan was nearly 0.5 seconds off Gasly’s pace in the first part of qualifying, after which he was knocked out.

Signing Colapinto gives Briatore and Oakes an option if Doohan fails to live up to expectations during the season.

Japanese Hirakawa’s recruitment alongside Estonian Aron, who was third in Formula 2 last year, was announced earlier on Thursday.

The 30-year-old, who was a development driver for McLaren last year, will take part in first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for the team on 4 April.

Testing previous cars (TPC) programmes allow teams to run drivers who are not racing in F1 in cars at least two years old, and have become increasingly prevalent among F1’s restrictions on testing of current machinery.