In the lead-up to what will be the last weekend of Formula 1 before the summer break, Alpine confirmed a news that directly impacts the preparation of Franco Colapinto. According to the French team, the Argentine will hand over his car to reserve driver Paul Aron during the first free practice of the Hungarian Grand Prix, as part of complying with the Formula 1 regulations that require teams to give opportunities to rookie drivers during the season.
In this way, the Estonian will take the wheel of the A526 during the first 60 minutes of activity of the weekend. Once the session is over, the car will return to Colapinto, who will resume his usual program from the second free practice and continue at the helm for the rest of the Grand Prix.
The car handover corresponds to one of the two opportunities in which each main driver must give up their seat to a debutant throughout the championship. In the case of the Argentine, this will be the first time he fulfills this regulatory obligation in the 2026 season.
For his part, Aron celebrated the opportunity to drive in the top tier again. "I am very eager to get behind the wheel of the A526 for my first free practice 1 with the team this season. I have driven the car in our simulator in Enstone all year, and it will be very valuable to go out on the track and feel the real thing firsthand".
The Estonian also recalled his previous participations with the team and explained what he will be looking for during Friday's session. "Last season I had very positive performances in the three FP1s I did with the team, and personally, my goal is to make the most of those opportunities and help in the best way I can throughout the rest of the weekend".
It is worth noting that Aron is part of Alpine's reserve driver group along with Italian Gabriele Minì, Irish Alex Dunne, and Indian Kush Maini. Unlike them, he is not competing in Formula 2 this year, although he has already had official running by participating in free practices with Audi at the Grands Prix of Spain and Austria.
When Colapinto returns to racing
After entering the points zone for the second consecutive time, the Argentine driver will seek to close the first part of the season by adding units in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Action at the Hungaroring will start this Friday, July 24 with the first free practices and will culminate on Sunday, July 26 with the main race.
In his only appearance in Formula 1 at this circuit during the previous season, the native of Pilar finished in 18th place, largely affected by the poor performance of the A525.
