A teammate of Colapinto is gone: Ryo Hirakawa leaves Alpine and joins Haas

Alpine received unexpected news: the Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa, who shared a team with Franco Colapinto, was confirmed as the new reserve driver for the Haas team. The Japanese driver, who participated in the first free practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix and finished in twelfth position,  will join the American team thanks to a collaboration between Toyota, the manufacturer he competed with in the World Endurance Championship, and the Formula 1 team itself, with whom they maintain a technological link.

With this new role, Hirakawa will be eligible to replace the Frenchman Esteban Ocon, former Alpine, or the Briton Oliver Bearman, in case either of them can't compete in a race.

"I'm excited to join Haas, I really appreciate this opportunity, and I'm looking forward to starting a new journey with the team. I'm going to do my first FP1 session in Bahrain, so for me having driven in two race weekends in a row is exciting, and I'm looking forward to getting to Bahrain," Hirakawa expressed after his incorporation into his new team was made official.

He also took the opportunity to express his gratitude: "to the team director, Ayao Komatsu-san, the Haas F1 Team, Morizo-san Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation, and Toyota Gazoo Racing for this opportunity, it's a new challenge for me and I'm eager to start".

During the free practice 1 sessions in Bahrain and Mexico, Hirakawa will use Bearman's car, while in the sessions in Barcelona and Abu Dhabi he will use Ocon's.

This change will not significantly impact Alpine's reserve driver structure, as it still has Franco Colapinto, the Estonian Paul Aron, and the Indian Kush Maini. However, the move could open more doors for the Argentine driver to have concrete chances of debuting in the current season.