Colapinto Left on the Back Foot After Hungarian GP FP2 Crash

Colapinto’s FP2 ends in the barriers

Franco Colapinto described his Friday at the Hungarian Grand Prix as a “pretty short day” after a significant crash brought FP2 to a halt at the Hungaroring.

The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but the crash ensured a long evening for Alpine’s engineers. Colapinto completed only 11 laps and finished the session classified 21st, losing valuable running at a circuit where teams must build their understanding across a limited amount of practice time.

A difficult car in low-grip conditions

Colapinto said the incident came in a car that has become increasingly demanding to drive, particularly on a low-grip track.

“I think the cars this year, with the low downforce, are more and more tricky to drive. A track like this, with very low grip, feels quite difficult, of course.”

Before the crash, he had been on course for personal bests in the first two sectors, suggesting that the lap had contained promising pace before the rear stepped away in the final corner.

“Lost the morning, so that wasn’t ideal. Lost the rear in the last corner, and hit the rear of the car with the tyres. Not a good day, not an ideal start.”

Alpine faces a recovery job

Colapinto acknowledged that the loss of track time leaves him with limited data heading into Saturday. The priority now is a clean FP3, followed by qualifying, as Alpine works to place the car in a more effective operating window.

“Of course, we don’t have a lot of data, but I think we can still work on it and try to put the car in a better window for tomorrow.”

With Colapinto 12th in the standings on 19 points, only three behind Arvid Lindblad in 11th, the midfield margins remain tight. A lost Friday in Budapest has therefore created an immediate recovery challenge for the Argentine driver and his team.