Photo: Alpine F1 Team
Alpine has announced that its reserve driver Paul Aron will be made available to rival Formula 1 team Sauber in a driving services agereement.
Aron was signed by Alpine last November, a year after he had left the Mercedes-AMG F1 team’s driver development programme which had supported him since karting.
The 21-year-old drove for Alpine in F1’s official post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit in December, and will return to an F1 cockpit at Silverstone this weekend by joining Sauber for free practice one of the British Grand Prix.
Sauber will also utilise Aron in FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 1. His running at the Hungaroring will mean the team completes its regulatory obligation to run drivers with less than three F1 starts in practice sessions in both of its cars.
“I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to have valuable track time in F1, so thanks to Alpine for coming to this arrangement,” said Aron.
“It is no secret that my desire is to one day race full-time in F1 so any chance to be on track in a competitive environment is an important stepping stone. While I continue to focus on my development with Alpine, I do look forward to the two sessions with Sauber and giving my maximum effort to them at Silverstone and Budapest.”
In the 10 rounds after that, Aron will make three more appearances in F1 practice by driving for Alpine. This year he has already done six days of private testing in the team’s 2023 car.
“It is in our interests to maximise any driving opportunities for our young talent, so it is good to have an agreement with Sauber for Paul to drive in FP1 in Silverstone and Budapest,” said Flavio Briatore, executive advisor to the Alpine F1 team.
“We are seeing varied success from last year’s Formula 2 drivers this year up and down the grid, and Paul was a frontrunner in that category, so this is an opportunity for him and the team to continue his progress and to give him valuable track time.”
Aron came third in his sole F2 season last year, winning one race and claiming seven other podiums. He was also third in the FIA Formula 3 Championship as a rookie, in 2023, and spent two years racing in Formula Regional before that.
Although Alpine has announced Aron’s outing with Sauber at Silverstone, it is yet to confirm its own driver line-up for this weekend. Franco Colapinto has completed his seven-race contract with the team, and Jack Doohan will return to the seat he started the season in should Alpine opt against continuing to use his replacement.