Colapinto crashes on final day of 2026 Pirelli test at Hungaroring

Formula 1's sole tyre supplier, Pirelli, continued its testing of next year’s tyres at Hungaroring in the wake of the Grand Prix at the venure on Sunday, with Alpine and Ferrari supplying mule cars adapted for the 2026 Formula 1 specifications: the tyres retain the 18-inch diameter but are now 25 mm narrower at the front and 30 mm at the rear.

The test focused on evaluating compound performance across short and long runs, primarily from C3 to C5 in the morning and a version of the C2 for the longer stints in the afternoon.

Colapinto completed only 25 laps before going off track during the early morning runs. The A525 suffered enough damage that Alpine could not return to the circuit. He had managed a best time of 1:20.270.

Alpine reported: “During the second day of Pirelli tire testing at the Hungaroring this morning, Franco Colapinto had an incident at Turn 11. Franco was evaluated at the medical center and is doing well."

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, in contrast to the Argentine driver, had a flawless session and completed 144 laps, setting a benchmark lap time of 1:19.407.

“These have been two useful days for making progress with the development of our compounds for next season, given that we are now entering the home straight,” Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola concluded in the Wednesday Pirelli test summary.

“The Hungaroring is a demanding track due to its many slow curves and the amount of energy that goes into the tyres on a lap that is rather short. This makes it a challenging place to test tyres, in particular for the compounds that will be central to the 2026 range – which will go from C1 to C6 like this year," explained Isola

The Pirelli boss confirmed the Alpine crash was unrelated to the tyres: “We have collected a lot of data, although it was a pity that we lost some of our potential mileage today when Colapinto went off the track, even though this was not in any way linked to the tyres.

"As for construction, we have verified our final solutions as far as homologation is concerned, ahead of the regulations coming on September 1," added Isola, confirming that three further 2026 tyre tests – at Monza, Mugello and Mexico City – are scheduled before final compound homologation on 15 December.

On Tuesday, the first day of the test, McLaren, Racing Bulls and Alpine were on track, with Lando Norris, Liam Lawson, and Paul Aron doing the driving duties.

Aron, who had driven for Sauber during FP1 on Friday, set the quickest time with a 1:18.789 and completed 159 laps in Alpine’s modified 2023 car. Norris managed 144 laps for McLaren, setting a best of 1:19.272, while Lawson clocked 143 laps with a 1:19.510 for Racing Bulls.

Temperatures ranged from 21°C to 31°C in the air and 29°C to 56°C on track as the three teams evaluated prototype C3, C4 and C5 compounds. The morning sessions were dedicated to short runs, with longer stints in the afternoon.

All three teams used cars adapted to accommodate the narrower 2026 tyres. McLaren and Alpine fielded 2023-based mule cars, while Racing Bulls used a 2024 chassis.

The tests marked Pirelli’s latest step in adapting to Formula 1’s upcoming technical overhaul, with feedback and data from both days to be analysed before the next sessions.