Franco Colapinto suffers accident in Pirelli tire test
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto suffered an accident during a Pirelli tire test at the Hungaroring 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”.
“During the second day of Pirelli tire testing at the Hungaroring this morning, Franco Colapinto had an incident at Turn 11,” Alpine reported in a statement. “Franco was evaluated at the medical center and is fine.”
Alpine
Colapinto, loaned to Alpine by Williams, replaced Jack Doohan earlier this year, but has struggled to achieve consistent results alongside teammate Pierre Gasly and has yet to score points.Franco Colapinto ha tenido dificultades en su tiempo en Alpine.Colapinto’s accident at the Hungaroring occurred after a race weekend at the same circuit in which he outperformed in qualifying and finished ahead of Gasly.
The 11th turn is a high-speed right-hand turn, with not much escape beyond the exit curb. Alpine did not offer details on how the accident occurred.
The two-day test at the Hungaroring aims to evaluate Pirelli’s tires for 2026, which are slightly narrower than the current ones and are part of a much broader regulatory overhaul 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 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.
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.
Pirelli Motorsport boss Mario Isola said they obtained a lot of data from the session despite Colapinto’s accident.
“We’ve gathered a lot of data, although it was a shame that we lost some 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.”
