Ryo Hirakawa has left Alpine to become a Formula 1 reserve driver at Haas immediately after impressing for Alpine in Japanese Grand Prix practice at Suzuka.
Having been a Toyota affiliated driver throughout his career and won two World Endurance Championship titles and a Le Mans 24 Hours with the firm, 31-year-old Japanese driver Hirakawa seemed a good fit for Haas given its new relationship with Toyota and he had already driven for - and impressed - the team in Abu Dhabi post-season testing last year.
But in early January Hirakawa was a surprise announcement as another Alpine reserve driver, joining Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron in the team's pool.
He was slated to carry out simulator work and Testing of Previous Car (TPC) running, as well as driving for the team in Suzuka opening practice.
Hirakawa starred in that outing last week - which was his second F1 practice appearance as his previous McLaren affiliation had also led to a drive in the Abu Dhabi Friday session last year. He was 12th fastest in first practice last Friday, ahead of Alpine regular Pierre Gasly.
But that's been followed by an immediate end to his association with Alpine, as he has left its programme to become a Haas reserve in a deal that provides another four Friday practice appearances - starting in Bahrain in place of Ollie Bearman later this week.
The Race understands that when Hirakawa joined Alpine he thought it may have a better opportunity as Haas made it clear it could not offer an F1 race seat.
However, the possibility of a formal Haas role never disappeared and Hirakawa has since determined - given his Toyota connection - that Haas is a better fit after all.
Though his exit comes immediately after he completed his Suzuka run for Alpine, moves towards the end of that deal and a formal arrangement with Toyota-partnered Haas instead were put in motion well in advance of that.
"It’s great to welcome Ryō to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and have his experience bolster our knowledge and understanding of the VF-25," said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.
"His feedback was very detailed at the post-season test last year, so being able to provide Ryo valuable track time across four different circuits this year will help the entire team.
"As part of our collaboration with Toyota Gazoo Racing, it’s great to welcome new talent into the team – it’s a real pleasure to work with a racer of his driving acumen."
Hirakawa's other practice outings for Haas this season will take place in Spain, Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
Following the news Alpine released the following statement on Monday evening.
"It is always good to see drivers get further opportunities in the sport, so we are happy to see Ryo link up with another team in a test & reserve driver role," Alpine said.
"Ryo put in a strong performance in FP1 in Japan and made a lasting impression both on and off track with his professionalism and work ethic during his time at the team.
"We wish him well for the future and for the next step in his career with Haas."
Unlike the crowded situation at Alpine, Hirakawa is the only official reserve on Haas's books - although it could potentially call on technical partner Ferrari's standbys Antonio Giovinazzi and Zhou Guanyu if Hirakawa is unavailable as he continues with Toyota's WEC programme this season.
While Haas's announcement focuses on Hirakawa's F1 practice appearances, the potential for him to get TPC running with the team - as Toyota junior Ritomo Miyata did earlier this year - also exists.
