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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 Alpine driver spun into Turn 17 in strong winds and went backwards into the barriers, heavily damaging the rear of his A526. The incident occurred around the halfway point of the session, with 32 minutes remaining, and triggered a red flag while marshals cleared the car and the circuit.
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.
The disruption also affected the wider field. Several drivers were caught in the middle of soft-tyre qualifying simulations when the red flag appeared. Once the session resumed, Ferrari moved to the front, with Lewis Hamilton edging Charles Leclerc in a one-two. The session’s result is covered in greater detail in Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two as Hungarian GP practice takes a dramatic turn.
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.”
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.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.