Franco Colapinto Suffers Accident in Pirelli Tests at Hungaroring
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto was involved in an accident during a Pirelli tire test at the Hungaroring circuit on Wednesday.
After the incident, 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 the Hungaroring this morning, Franco Colapinto had an incident at Turn 11,” Alpine reported.
Alpine
Colapinto, who is on loan to Alpine from Williams, replaced Jack Doohan earlier this year, but has struggled to achieve consistent results, failing to score points alongside teammate Pierre Gasly.Speculation suggests he 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 right-hand turn at 142 mph with not much escape 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 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 broader regulatory overhaul for next season.
‘I feel useless’: Hamilton sinks in a disastrous debut year at Ferrari
Enrico Cardile starts at Aston Martin after the dispute with Ferrari
Gabriel Bortoleto, the ‘best rookie of his generation’ – Alonso
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 Wednesday. Tire tests were being 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 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 test aims to conduct a final evaluation on 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 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 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 other hand, 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.”
