Overview
- Alpine ran reserve Paul Aron in FP1 to comply with the FIA rule requiring teams to give young drivers track time, which left Franco Colapinto without morning mileage on Friday.
- Colapinto lost the rear at the final corner in FP2 on Friday, hit the barriers, triggered a red flag and completed only 11 laps while Alpine repaired the car.
- He returned in Saturday's FP3, ran without incident and finished 14th, a run that restored confidence but could not fully replace the lost setup work from Friday.
- In qualifying Colapinto advanced to Q2 but was eliminated and provisionally will start 13th for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
- The grid remains provisional because the FIA is investigating separate qualifying incidents that could bring penalties, and Alpine says upgrades after the summer break are needed to close the midfield performance gap.