Alpine driver Franco Colapinto suffered an accident during a Pirelli tire test at the Hungaroring circuit on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at turn 11 of the circuit. After the accident, Colapinto was taken to the circuit’s medical center, where it was confirmed that he was fine.
Alpine issued a statement confirming that the Argentinian driver was in good condition after the incident.
Colapinto, who is on loan to Alpine from Williams, replaced Jack Doohan earlier this year, but has struggled to get consistent results alongside teammate Pierre Gasly, failing to score points.Franco Colapinto ha tenido dificultades en su tiempo en Alpine.Colapinto’s accident occurred after a race weekend on the same circuit, where he outperformed Gasly in qualifying and in the race.
The 11th turn is a high-speed right-hand turn, with not much run-off area beyond the curb.
The two-day test at Hungaroring is taking place to evaluate the 2026 Pirelli tires, which are slightly narrower than the current ones and are part of a major revision of the regulations for next season.
Alpine was on track for both days, with Aron at the wheel on Tuesday for the Pirelli test and Colapinto and Gasly scheduled to share on Wednesday. Tire tests were being completed on this year’s car, while Alpine also had a 2023 car present at the test for Colapinto and Gasly.
After McLaren and Racing Bulls participated in Tuesday’s tests, Ferrari was on track on Wednesday with a modified version of its SF-25 from this year, designed to replicate the performance of a 2026 car in corners and on straights.
The test aims to conduct a final evaluation of the construction of the tires for 2026, which must be approved and homologated before September 1st.
Work on the compounds for next season will continue for six more days of testing at the end of the year before they are approved on December 15.
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport boss, said they obtained a lot of data from the session despite Colapinto’s accident.
“We’ve collected a lot of data, although it was a shame that we lost some of our potential mileage today when Colapinto went off track, although this was in no way related to the tires,” he said.
“Regarding construction, we have verified our final solutions with respect to homologation, before the regulations come into effect on September 1st. On the contrary, we now have three more test sessions, in Monza, Mugello and Mexico City, to conclude the development of the compounds, whose homologation is scheduled for December 15th.”
