
Colapinto spent the day at the wheel of an Alpine A523, the car the squad campaigned in the 2023 season.
It followed fellow reserve driver Paul Aron (pictured) who completed laps on Saturday aboard the machine.
Colapinto is one of four reserve drivers named by the team but also the one thought to be first in line should an opportunity arise to step into a race seat.
The Argentine driver arrived from Williams over the off-season, prompting speculation he could replace Jack Doohan in short order.
The TPC (testing previous car) outing came while the race team was in action at the Japanese Grand Prix.
There, the young Aussie suffered a huge crash during Free Practice 2 on Friday.
It was a significant impact that prompted a lengthy rebuild from the team, though Doohan himself was cleared to continue competing.
Footage immediately post-race suggested that the crash had caught up with him on Sunday afternoon as he struggled to climb from the car before limping away with the help of Esteban Ocon.
According to the team, that was a result of stiffness following an interrupted weekend for the 23-year-old and not because of an underlying injury that he’d masked heading into the race.
Doohan had logged only 28 laps of Suzuka across two practice sessions (he sat out the first one in favour of Ryo Hirakawa) and qualifying, barely more than half a race distance.
During the 53-lap race, he moved forward from 19th on the grid to 15th at the flag to be one of the few drivers to have made progress, a point that was well-received by those within the team.
It was a positive end to what was a difficult weekend at an event that marked the opening leg of a triple-header that will this weekend see F1 in action at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The timing of Colapinto’s test was coincidental and did not come in reaction to what transpired in Suzuka.
Planned well in advance, the team was already en route to Monza for the TPC running as cars headed out on track in Japan.
However, it serves to highlight the pressure Doohan is under, and the looming threat Colapinto poses to the young Australian.
According to 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, the pressure that has placed on Doohan was evident in Suzuka.
Much of the speculation has come from comments made by executive advisor Flavio Briatore.
“I try to make sure the team has the best possible drivers. If it’s Colapinto, Jack, Paul [Aron], I don’t care,” Briatore said.
“I’m not a killer, I just want to have the best drivers possible.
“I’ve been representing Fernando Alonso for 23 years, which shows that I support drivers who give me what I ask for.”
Meanwhile team principal Oliver Oakes has attempted to calm the waters, and even admitted the team has played a contributing factor in making them choppy in the first place.
While Doohan was 15th in Suzuka, Pierre Gasly was only 13th in the sister car.
Three races into the 2025 season and Alpine remains the only team yet to score a world championship point.
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