Doohan will take part in the opening hour of running at Silverstone in place of Pierre Gasly on Friday.

It’s the second such outing of the season for the Australian who stepped into Esteban Ocon’s car during Free Practice 1 at the Canadian Grand Prix last month.

His appearance sees Alpine satisfy the requirement that each team must field a rookie driver in each car at least once during the season.

Doohan is the squad’s official reserve driver and has completed the Friday running for the Enstone operation for the past three seasons.

Traditionally, teams have opted to complete their rookie running towards the end of the year, when development had slowed and there was less to be gained or lost in doing so.

Confirmation of Doohan’s participation in the session comes as he remains in the frame for a race drive with the organisation next season.

The Australian is in contention, along with Mick Schumacher, for the drive alongside Gasly, who inked a contract extension with the squad last week.

Carlos Sainz has also been linked with a move to Enstone, for whom he raced when it was known as Renault in 2017 and 2018, though is considered an outsider as he weighs up offers from Williams and Sauber (Audi).

Doohan won’t be the only rookie in action, with Williams set to field academy driver Franco Colapinto in place of Logan Sargeant.

“I have so many emotions. I am extremely delighted and it’s a very important moment in my life and my career. I will be the most prepared I can; I will be doing a lot of laps in the simulator and studying the details needed to drive this year’s car,” said the Formula 2 race winner.

“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the new car after driving last year’s in Abu Dhabi.

“To be able to drive it at a track like Silverstone is a privilege, it is one of my favourite tracks and to drive it at the team’s home race means a lot.”

Opening practice for this weekend’s British Grand Prix begins at 12:30 local time on Friday (21:30 AEST).