Alpine’s under-pressure and beleaguered Franco Colapinto has suffered a huge crash during a test at the Hungaroring.
Franco Colapinto has endured a trying tenure at Alpine, since replacing Jack Doohan just five races into 2025. His latest faux pas in the form of a testing crash piles further pressure on the young Argentinian.
Never at one at his car, he was rumoured to have given three simple instructions by Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore. These were: be fast, don’t crash, and score points. To date, none of these have been achieved.
Instead, Colapinto remains the only driver on the grid yet to score a point, has a highest finish position of 14th.
But it is his crashes that continue to beleaguer the young Argentinian. High-profile crashes forcing exits from qualifying at the Emilia Romagna GP and British GPs highlight a cycle that shows no sign of ending.
He encountered another struggle at the Hungarian GP, finishing a lowly 18th. Colapinto remained behind after the race to take part in the Pirelli tyre test. This test focuses on tyre compound data gathering for the 2026 season. Alpine joined McLaren, Ferrari, and Racing Bulls at the test.
Alpine test and reserve driver Paul Aron took part on day two, with Colapinto taking over duties on Wednesday for day two.
A hefty crash curtails running
During his morning run, Franco Colapinto had a significant crash at Turn 11. The impact with the barriers destroyed the front of his A525, ripping off his front left and rear wheels, suspension, and front wing.
The severity of the crash caused Colapinto to be taken to the Medical Centre for examination. In a brief statement released on social media, Alpine confirmed their driver was “okay”, but did not give any further details.
“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 okay.”
The crash will likely curtail Alpine’s running for the rest of the day, losing Pirelli valuable tyre data. Colapinto has has seven races with Alpine, his future still uncertain.
Rumours that Valterri Bottas will take his seat for the second half of the season continue to circulate. However, all parties involved are not commenting on the subject.
F1 now enters its mandatory three week summer break ahead of the Dutch GP at the end of August. This latest crash raises questions once again on whether Colapinto will race for Alpine in the second half of the season.
