The Alpine driver lost control of his A525 at Turn 11 during the second day of a private testing session for Pirelli’s 2026-spec tyres. While the car sustained significant damage, Colapinto was unhurt and was cleared at the medical centre.
“During Day 2 of Pirelli Tyre Testing at the Hungaroring this morning, Franco Colapinto had an incident at Turn 11. Franco was assessed on site at the medical centre and is OK,” a team statement read.
The two-day test, held after last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, featured four teams — Alpine, Ferrari, McLaren and Racing Bulls — trialling narrower prototype tyres set to debut under Formula 1’s new regulations in 2026.
Colapinto had been sharing testing duties with teammate Pierre Gasly, but his crash ended his running early on Wednesday morning.
The incident adds to growing pressure on the 22-year-old Argentine, who remains without a point since replacing Jack Doohan at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. He has crashed twice in qualifying and has been outqualified by Gasly six times in their eight races as teammates.
Although Colapinto showed signs of improvement in Hungary — outqualifying and finishing ahead of Gasly for just the second time since joining the grid — the latest setback comes at a difficult time, with Valtteri Bottas linked to Alpine as a possible replacement, potentially even before the end of the season.
Alpine sits last in the constructors’ standings with 20 points, 15 behind ninth-placed Haas.
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