Ryō Hirakawa joins Alpine as Test and Reserve driver

Ryō Hirakawa joins Alpine as Test and Reserve driver

9th January 2025 0 By Kamron Kent

Alpine F1 Team confirmed Ryō Hirakawa will join the team’s roster of Test and Reserve Drivers for the upcoming 2025 season, expanding their current pool of such drivers.

On Thursday, Alpine confirmed they will be adding Hirakawa to their pool of Test and Reserve drivers which includes participating in the teams Testing of Previous Cars programme (TPC) as well as supporting car development for the upcoming season.

Hirakawa joins Alpine with wealth of motorsport experience having competed in various disciplines in his career from Super Formula, Endurance and Super GT. Recently, Hirakawa also tested in Formula 1 machinery in 2023 and 2024.

On the news, Hirakawa said:

“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, as well as working with the team testing previous cars.

“It is a great opportunity to be working with such a dedicated team that utilises the breadth of experience of its driver pool and I look forward to playing a part in making 2025 a positive year together.”

Amongst some of Hirakawa’s highlights, the Japanese driver also claimed victory at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 and stands as a two-time Hypercar champion in the FIA’s World Endurance Championship.

Of the F1 machinery he has tested, Alpine’s newcomer tested for both Haas F1 and McLaren Racing with the latter being his most recent spell with FP1 debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in place of Oscar Piastri.

Alpine will give Hirakawa his first debut with the team in front of his home crowd as the team have confirmed he will participate in FP1 at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.

“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,” commented Alpine Team Principal, Oliver Oakes. “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, and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the team as we press ahead with preparations for the new season.”

The announcement comes ahead of the Tokyo Auto Salon which will be held on January 10-12.

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Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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