Japanese Ryo Hirakawa has joined Alpine as one of their two test and reserve drivers this year.
The 30-year-old, who was a development driver for McLaren in 2024, will take part in first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for the team on 4 April.
Hirakawa, who raced in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota last year, will be one of two Alpine F1 reserves along with Estonian Paul Aron, who finished third in Formula 2 last year.
Alpine are also in talks with Argentine Franco Colapinto over a role with the team.
The 21-year-old has been under contract with Williams since 2023, and raced in the final nine grands prix of last season after the team dropped American Logan Sargeant.
Colapinto, who scored points in the Azerbaijan and US Grands Prix, impressed Williams and rival teams with the speed of his adaptation to F1.
Red Bull were considering signing him for their second team Racing Bulls in 2025 and had talks with Williams about a release, but their interest cooled after a series of crashes for Colapinto in the Brazilian and Las Vegas races.
Alpine have continued negotiations and are exploring options that could see Colapinto join the team’s driver line-up for 2025.
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Alpine have signed Australian rookie Jack Doohan, the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, as a race driver alongside Frenchman Pierre Gasly for this season.
Doohan made his race debut at the final grand prix of 2024 in Abu Dhabi as Alpine sought to optimise his preparations for his debut season.
The 21-year-old qualified last and finished 15th, while Gasly was sixth on the grid and seventh in the race. Doohan was nearly 0.5 seconds off Gasly’s pace in the first part of qualifying, after which he was knocked out.
If Alpine signed Colapinto, it would give executive director Flavio Briatore and team principal Oliver Oakes an option if Doohan did not live up to expectations during the season.
Hirakawa’s role will include taking part in Alpine’s programme involving testing previous cars (TPC). These, which allow teams to run drivers who are not racing in F1 in cars at least two years old, have become increasingly prevalent among F1’s restrictions on testing of current machinery.
Oakes said: “Ryo’s 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.”