After his lackluster Hungarian Grand Prix, and before starting his summer vacation, Franco Colapinto returned to the track and delivered an outstanding performance. The driver from Alpine was the fastest on the first day of tire testing organized by Pirelli at the Hungaroring, where the Italian company began evaluating the compounds that will be used by the Formula 1 in the 2027 season.
The tests, which will last for two days, bring together different teams to collaborate on the development of future tires for the championship. On this Tuesday's activity, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, with Audi, and American Jak Crawford, reserve driver for Aston Martin, also participated.
During the day, the drivers carried out different work programs designed by Pirelli. In the first stage, they tested various versions of the C3 compound and later conducted race simulations to analyze the performance and degradation of the tires. Later, Colapinto and Bortoleto also ran with variants of the C4 and C5 compounds, both in qualifying simulations and in longer stints.
In this session, the Argentine completed a total of 128 laps, equivalent to 561 kilometers, and recorded the best time of the day with a mark of 1m20.371s. Bortoleto finished second after completing 141 laps (618 kilometers) and stopping the clock at 1m20.813s, while Crawford closed the day with 136 laps (596 kilometers) and a best time of 1m24.598s.
The tests were conducted under demanding conditions, with an ambient temperature close to 30 °C and an asphalt that reached 53 °C, a scenario that allowed Pirelli to gather a large amount of information about the behavior of the different compounds.
Activity at the Hungaroring will continue this Wednesday with the second and final day of testing. On that occasion, Colapinto and Bortoleto will get back behind the wheel to complete a similar program, while Pirelli continues with the development of the tires that will debut in Formula 1 in two seasons.
When will Colapinto race again
After the race on Hungarian soil, Formula 1 will take a break for the summer vacation. In this sense, the category will return in one month with the Dutch Grand Prix. Action at the Zandvoort circuit will start on Friday, August 21 with a single free practice and the Sprint qualifying, and will close on Sunday, August 23 with the main race.
In his only appearance on Dutch territory driving in the top category, Colapinto finished just outside the points zone in 11th place.
