Photo: Alpine F1 Team
Alpine was quick to confirm after the Dutch Grand Prix that Franco Colapinto’s race-by-race deal was continuing, but he will spend time on the sidelines at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Argentinian, who qualified 16th and finished a season-best 11th at Zandvoort last weekend, will miss Formula 1’s first free practice session at Monza this Friday as Paul Aron takes over his car.
Aron was signed as Alpine’s reserve driver for 2025 last November, meaning he got mileage in a contemporary car by driving in post-season testing, but Jack Doohan then served in the role after Colapinto took his race seat earlier this year.
Alpine kept Aron busy with six says of private testing in its 2023 car during the first half of 2025, then loaned him to rival team Sauber so he could make his F1 practice debut.
Sauber utilised him at the British and Hungarian grands prix, and with Alpine he will make three further FP1 outings.
“I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the A525 for my first grand prix weekend appearance with the team in Monza,” said the 21-year-old Estonian.
“I’ve got to know everyone really well since I joined at the end of last year as test and reserve driver and appreciate the trust the team has given me to drive in Friday’s free practice one. I’m aiming to do as good a job as possible to help set up the car for the whole weekend and be in the best position to have a competitive race weekend from the outset.
“Personally, it will be great to build on the experience I’ve gained from the simulator and testing opportunities. I’ll make sure I use this to have an enjoyable and productive session for both me and the team.”
Colapinto meanwhile commented: “It was nice to secure my best result of the season with 11th place for the team in Zandvoort. A lot happened over the course of the race which put us in contention for points so credit to everyone for how we managed all the different scenarios. To be so close to scoring [at Zandvoort] but just missing out was, on one hand, quite pleasing as it shows our progress but also a little disappointing as it really was so close at the end.”
Alpine and Red Bull Racing each have one vacant race seat for next season, while Mercedes-AMG and Racing Bulls are yet to announce their F1 line-ups for 2026. Aron will be looking to use his three practice appearances with Alpine as an audition for a promotion.