Mario Isola

Pirelli F1 chief Mario Isola has provided a statement in the wake of Alpine star Franco Colapinto’s crash during a tyre test this week, insisting that the incident was nothing do with the company’s tyres.

Following last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Argentine stuck around for a couple of extra days at the Hungaroring to participate in the test

However, F1’s tyre supplier confirmed that the morning session on day two had been disrupted due to a crash for Colapinto at high speed that wrecked his Alpine car.

The 22-year-old received immediate medical treatment on-site, before his team confirmed on social media that he was OK.

And now Isola, head of Pirelli Motorsport, has addressed the incident in a statement on the company’s official website following the completion of then test.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“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.”
Franco Colapinto crashed during a recent tyre testing event in Hungary

Colapinto fighting for his F1 future

Colapinto has endured a challenging start to life in F1 since making his breakthrough midway through last season.

He impressed in his early showings for Williams having replaced Logan Sargeant, but was not able to secure a seat on the grid for 2025.

Alpine offered a lifeline for the racer, signing him up as reserve driver behind Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan.

He finally got his chance to show what he could do when Doohan was axed in early May, but has yet to score a single point in his eight outings to date.

That form has prompted many to speculate that he will not be on the grid next season, with the likes of veterans Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez touted as potential options.

Colapinto at least had some good news to celebrate on his most recent appearance in Budapest, outqualifying team-mate Gasly before finishing above the Frenchman in the race.