BWT Alpine have announced two reserve drivers with an agreement being made with Williams for one of them.

The agreement with Williams has secure the services of Franco Colapinto on a multi-year deal.

The 21-year-old Argentinian driver will take up the role of Test and Reserve Driver for the upcoming 2025 Formula One World Championship.

Franco Colapinto, BWT Alpine Formula One Team: “I am super excited to have the opportunity to join BWT Alpine Formula One Team. First of all, I want to say thank you to Williams for all their support from the moment I joined the Academy until the last race in Abu Dhabi.

“They turned my dream of racing in Formula One into reality, and I will always be grateful for that. Now, it is time for a new chapter, and to take on this challenge with BWT Alpine Formula One Team is truly an honour.

“A huge thank you to Luca [de Meo], Flavio [Briatore] and Oliver [Oakes] for believing in me and welcoming me into the team with open arms. I cannot wait to get started and see where this journey takes us.

“Also, a massive thank you to all my sponsors and partners who stood by me through the challenges of the 2024 season.

“Your support made it all possible, and to my incredible fans in Argentina: ‘Muchas gracias!’ Your passion and encouragement mean the world to me. Let’s aim for even greater things in 2025 and beyond.”

The French team have also announced that Ryō Hirakawa will also be joining the team’s roster of Test and Reserve Drivers for 2025, further expanding the pool of talent from which the team may call upon throughout the season for testing and driving duties.

Ryō Hirakawa, Test and Reserve Driver, BWT Alpine Formula One Team: “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.”

As part of his role at BWT Alpine, Franco will be in attendance at a number of Grands Prix throughout the year and also share driving duties with Paul Aron and Ryō Hirakawa in the Testing of Previous Cars Programme [TPC], as well as contributing to the team’s efforts on the driver-in-loop simulator at its headquarters in Enstone.

While in addition to the above mentioned duties Ryō will also drive in Free Practice 1 at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit.

Ryō brings a wealth of experience to the team having competed across various disciplines including Super Formula, Endurance, and Super GT as well as having tested in Formula One machinery in 2023 and 2024.

The Japanese driver most notably took overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 and is a two-time Hypercar Champion in the FIA World Endurance Championship (2022 and 2023).