Colapinto Suffers Accident in Pirelli Tests at Hungaroring
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.
Alpine confirmed in a statement that the Argentinian driver was “fine”.
During the second day of Pirelli tire testing at Hungaroring this morning, Franco Colapinto had an incident at Turn 11. Franco was evaluated at the medical center and is fine.
Alpine
Colapinto, who is on loan to Alpine from Williams, replaced Jack Doohan earlier this year, but has struggled to get consistent results alongside his teammate, Pierre Gasly, and has yet to score points.Franco Colapinto ha tenido dificultades en su tiempo en Alpine.It has been speculated that Colapinto could be replaced by Doohan, reserve driver Paul Aron, or even Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes’ reserve driver, before the end of the season.
Colapinto’s accident at the Hungaroring occurred after a race weekend at the same circuit, where he outperformed in qualifying and finished ahead of Gasly.
The 11th turn is a high-speed right-hand turn (142 mph) with not much run-off area beyond the exit curb. Alpine did not offer details on how the accident occurred.
Colapinto was selected by Alpine after his nine races with Williams in the second half of the 2024 season, in which he scored five points.
The two-day tests at Hungaroring are being carried out to evaluate the 2026 Pirelli tires, which are slightly narrower than the current ones and are part of a broader regulatory review for next season.
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Alpine was on track for both days, with Aron at the wheel on Tuesday for Pirelli’s tests and Colapinto and Gasly scheduled to share on Wednesday. Tire tests were being carried out with this year’s car, while Alpine also had a 2023 car present at the tests for Colapinto and Gasly.
After McLaren and Racing Bulls participated in Tuesday’s tests, Ferrari is on track on Wednesday with a modified version of this year’s SF-25, designed to replicate the performance of a 2026 car in corners and on straights.
The aim of the test is 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 signed on December 15.
Pirelli Motorsport boss Mario Isola said they obtained a lot of data from the session despite Colapinto’s accident.
We have collected a lot of data, although it was a pity that we lost some of our potential mileage today when Colapinto went off track, although this was in no way related to the tires. As for the construction, we have verified our final solutions with regard to homologation, before the entry into force of the regulations 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.
