Alpine appoints former Le Mans winner as new reserve driver
F1 News
Alpine has announced a new test and reserve driver for 2025. Ryo Hirakawa moves to the French team where he will do simulator work but will also be in action during the first free practice of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Hirakawa will become part of the Alpine TPC programme. The Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) has become a regular feature of F1 teams to train young drivers for F1, and in addition to that, the Japanese talent will also drive FP1 for Alpine during his home Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit.
"It is an honour to be joining BWT Alpine Formula One Team as a Test and Reserve Driver for the 2025 season. As always, the opportunity of track time in Formula One machinery is the pinnacle for race drivers and I am excited to drive in Free Practice 1 in front of my home crowd at the Japanese Grand Prix. It is a great opportunity to be working with such a dedicated team," Hirakawa hinted in the press release.
A new driver for Alpine
''It is great to bring Ryō on board with the team for 2025 and have him step in to take over driving duties for FP1 in Japan in front of his home crowd. His addition brings a diverse range of racing experience to our current roster and expands the pool of talent available to call upon throughout the season. His role will be important in providing the team with support in various areas of development through our TPC programme and simulator work,'' said Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes.
At 30 years old, Hirakawa already has a lot of experience in motorsport, having driven in the Japanese Super Formula, the World Endurance Championship, and Super GT. He also has experience in F1 cars. In 2024, for instance, he was part of McLaren, for whom he made his debut in Formula 1 during the first free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He then did the Young Driver test for Haas as well in Abu Dhabi, as part of the partnership between Haas and Toyota.
In motorsport, Hirakawa is no stranger to success. For instance, he became World Endurance Championship champion with Toyota in 2022 and 2023. He did so together with former F1 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. In 2022, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the same team. A year later, the trio finished second.
It is unlikely to be Alpine's last announcement. Indeed, on Wednesday evening it became clear that Franco Colapinto also seemed to be Alpine-bound. This would not be to take over Jack Doohan's seat, however, as GPblog was able to learn the addition of the Argentine talent to its ranks would be only to expand its young driver's talent pool.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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