Franco Colapinto crash update as Pirelli confirm plan of action

Franco Colapinto has put his Pirelli tyre testing crash behind him as he retook to the Hungaroring aboard Alpine’s 2023 car.

The Alpine driver left the track at Turn 11 at the wheel of the team’s 2025 machine, which suffered damage that could not be repaired at the circuit, before heading back out later in the day as part of a planned ‘testing previous car’ (TPC) outing.

Franco Colapinto back on track at the Hungaroring

Colapinto was initially at the wheel of an Alpine A525 as part of a two-day Pirelli tyre test as the Italian company works on its 2026 compounds.

Alpine had fielded Paul Aron on Tuesday alongside Charles Leclerc for Ferrari and Lando Norris for McLaren on behalf of Pirelli.

For the second day, Colapinto was scheduled to complete the morning’s running aboard the A525 before handing the car to team-mate Pierre Gasly.

The Argentinian was then scheduled to climb into the squad’s 2023 machine, the A523, after Gasly drove it during the morning as part of the TPC outing.

While Alpine was able to continue with that programme, Pirelli’s test was interrupted with the A525 damaged beyond what could be repaired at the circuit.

Images of the incident suggest damage to the front and rear of the car following an off at the circuit’s fastest corner.

Following the conclusion of today’s outing, Alpine will truck the car back to its UK base where it will assess the chassis before deciding on any next steps for the car.

Alpine is scheduled to begin its mandatory 14-day shutdown period from next Monday.

Meanwhile, Ferrari has continued its running for Pirelli with Leclerc having remained at the wheel.

The loss of the Alpine has come as a set back for F1’s official tyre supplier, which has lost mileage during a compound comparison test.

It did, however, gain three cars worth of data on Tuesday, somewhat offsetting the impact of Colapinto’s off.

There also remain further tests planned, in Monza, Mugello, and Mexico City, with the latter considered especially valuable in terms of assessing the softer end of the range.

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New rules set to be introduced bring with them sweeping changes to the aerodynamics of cars.

F1 will introduce moveable wings from 2026 as the sport embraces a power units that produce 50 per cent of their power through electrical energy.

It sees Pirelli venturing into the unknown to an extent, with teams modifying their cars to approximate the grip levels expected next year.

The challenge is to create tyres that degrade such that they produce a natural performance delta while avoiding pitfalls such as graining and excessive heat sensitivity.

“Clearly, we need to understand how the new cars are going to work,’ Pirelli’s motorsport director, Mario Isola, said earlier this year.

“At the moment, we have an estimation. We have simulations coming from the teams. But it’s impossible to test the tyres on track with representative cars.

“We have the mule cars, but the aero package is the same as they have now, so the stress on the tyre is probably not comparable to what we will have in 2026,’ he added.

“Especially because the new cars should not generate so much [drag] on the main straight, so we are expecting higher top speed, but a similar amount of downforce in the corners that is slightly lower, on paper.”

In addition to the significant chassis and power unit regulations, tyres are also set to change.

At the front, tyres will be 25mm narrow for F1 2026, and 30mm at the rear.

Testing of next year’s rubber began in September 2024, with the first wet running last November.

Since then, there have been a number of other outings, including with Alpine at Paul Ricard and Barcelona, where it was joined by Ferrari and McLaren.

Announced in late-2023, Pirelli will remain F1’s exclusive tyre supplier until at least the end of 2027.

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