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 has impressed both Williams and rival teams with how quickly he has adapted to F1.
Many Argentinian sponsors are keen to back Colapinto, adding to his appeal to the team.
Red Bull had considered signing him to their second team Racing Bulls in 2025 and had held talks with Williams over a release, but an incident occurred after Colapinto played in Brazil and Las Vegas. Their interest cooled after the series of crashes.
But Alpine persisted in their pursuit and lured him with a long-term deal.
Thursday’s announcement made no mention of Colapinto’s potential race seat, but his addition to Alpine increases pressure on rookie driver Jack Doohan, who has already signed a seat for 2025, along with Pierre Gasly.
The Frenchman won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with Toro Rosso and joined Alpine in 2023. A new deal was signed last year that runs until at least the end of 2026.
Doohan, the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, will make his debut at the final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi in 2024 as Alpine works to optimize preparations for his debut season.
The 21-year-old finished last in qualifying and finished 15th, while Gasly finished sixth on the grid and seventh in the race. Doohan was eliminated after finishing nearly 0.5 seconds behind Gasly in the first stage of qualifying.
Signing Colapinto would provide Briatore and Oakes with an option if Doohan fails to live up to expectations during the season.
The recruitment of Japanese Hirakawa and Estonian Aron, who finished third in Formula 2 last year, were announced earlier on Thursday.
The 30-year-old, who was McLaren’s development driver last year, will take part in the team’s first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix on April 4.
The Test Used Cars (TPC) scheme allows teams to let drivers who have not raced in F1 drive cars that are at least two years old, and is becoming increasingly common amid F1’s restrictions on testing current machines.
