Franco Colapinto Suffers Accident in Pirelli Test at Hungaroring
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto suffered an accident during a Pirelli tire test at the Hungaroring circuit on Wednesday.
Colapinto was taken to the circuit’s medical center after the incident. Alpine confirmed in a statement that the Argentinian driver was “fine”.
According to Alpine’s statement, the accident occurred at Turn 11 during the second day of Pirelli testing.
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.Speculation about his possible replacement has been constant, with names like Doohan, reserve driver Paul Aron, and even Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes’ reserve driver, being mentioned to take his place before the end of the season.
Colapinto’s accident at the Hungaroring occurred after a race weekend at the same circuit, where he outperformed Gasly in qualifying and finished ahead of him in the race.
Curve 11 is a high-speed right-hand turn with not much run-off beyond the exit kerb. 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, where he scored five points.
The two-day test at Hungaroring aims to evaluate the 2026 Pirelli tires, which are slightly narrower than the current ones and are part of a major overhaul of the regulations for next season.
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Alpine participated in both days, with Aron at the wheel on Tuesday for the Pirelli test and Colapinto and Gasly sharing Wednesday. The tire tests were carried out with 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 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 being approved on December 15.
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport boss, 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 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.
Mario Isola
“Regarding the construction, we have verified our final solutions with respect to homologation, in view of the entry into force of the regulations on September 1st. On the contrary, we now have three additional test sessions, in Monza, Mugello and Mexico City, to conclude the development of the compounds, whose homologation is scheduled for December 15th.”
