Under-pressure Alpine driver Franco Colapinto crashed during a Pirelli tyre test at the Hungaroring on Wednesday.
Colapinto was taken to the circuit medical centre after the accident and Alpine confirmed in a statement the Argentine driver was “OK.”
“During day two of Pirelli tyre testing at the Hungaroring this morning, Franco Colapinto had an incident at Turn 11,” Alpine said in a statement. “Franco was assessed on site at the medical centre and is OK.”
Colapinto, who is on loan to Alpine from Williams, replaced Jack Doohan earlier this year, but has struggled for results alongside teammate Pierre Gasly and failed to score a point.
Speculation has been rife that he could be rotated back out of the seat and replaced by Doohan, reserve driver Paul Aron or even Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas before the end of this season.
Colapinto’s crash at the Hungaroring followed a race weekend at the same circuit in which he outqualified and finished ahead of Gasly.
Turn 11 is a 142-mph right-hander without much run-off beyond the exit kerb. Alpine did not offer any details on how the accident happened.
Colapinto was picked by Alpine on the back of his nine races with Williams in the second half of the 2024 season, in which he scored five points.
The two-day test at the Hungaroring is taking place to assess Pirelli’s 2026 tyres, which are slightly narrower than the current tyres and part of a much wider regulation shake up for next season.
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Alpine was on track over both days, with Aron behind the wheel on Tuesday while Colapinto was due to share a day’s driving with teammate Gasly in a year-old Alpine on Wednesday.
After McLaren and Racing Bulls took part in Tuesday’s testing, 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 the straights.
The test has is aimed at making a final evaluation on the tyre construction for 2026, which has to be signed off and homologated by Sept. 1.
Work on compounds for next season will continue over six more days of testing later in the year before they are signed off on Dec. 15.
