– For Alpine driver Franco Colapinto, Friday before the Hungarian Grand Prix was anything but successful. After having to sit out the first free practice session to let reserve driver Paul Aron take the cockpit, the 23-year-old flew off the track in the last corner in FT2 and crashed his A526 into the barrier. His session was thus already over after about half an hour.
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“That was a pretty short day,” summarized the Alpine driver. “With less downforce, the cars are more difficult to drive this year. On a track like this, where you have very little grip, it naturally feels difficult.”
Ironically, Paul Aron also struggled with the last corner in FT1. The TV director showed the team’s reserve driver having to counter-steer several times in the long right-hand corner to avoid losing his Alpine.
“I couldn’t drive in the morning, that wasn’t exactly ideal,” commented Colapinto on the reserve driver’s outing. Regarding his crash, the Alpine driver explained after the session: “I lost the rear in the last corner and ended up in the tire barrier.”
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Consequently, Colapinto lacks a lot of track time before qualifying. Looking at the other half of the Alpine garage, the last weekend before the summer break is unlikely to be a walk in the park for the Enstone team.
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Pierre Gasly could only finish FT1 and FT2 in 14th position respectively. On Friday afternoon, he was about five tenths of a second off the top 10, while in the morning there was almost a full second between Gasly and Liam Lawson in 10th position.
Looking at the long-run pace, Gasly, based on FT2, is between the two Audi drivers. He is more than five tenths of a second behind competitors like Lawson.
In the Constructors’ World Championship, Alpine is in fifth position before the race in Hungary. However, the Racing Bulls, who are tied on points, are already lurking in sixth position.
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