Attentive Colapinto: Alpine loans Paul Aron to Sauber for the next two FP1 sessions

Alpine has reached an agreement with Kick Sauber to loan them their reserve driver, Paul Aron. This way, the Estonian will participate in the first free practice sessions (FP1) at Silverstone and Budapest with the Swiss team, and Franco Colapinto will temporarily face less internal pressure regarding a possible driver change.

Sauber, which this year doesn't have an official reserve driver, is required to include a rookie in two of the four FP1 sessions mandated by the regulations for the 2025 season. For this reason, the future Audi structure signed with Alpine so that Aron, former F2 driver and part of their reserve roster, fulfills that role.

The 21-year-old driver will get into the C45 next weekend at Silverstone, replacing Nico Hulkenberg, and will then return to his duties as Alpine's reserve for the remainder of the Grand Prix. He will also be on track in Free Practice 1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last event before the summer break.

The other two rookie spots at Sauber have already gone to Gabriel Bortoleto, who recently scored his first points with an eighth-place finish in Austria.

"I'm very happy to have the opportunity to get valuable track time in Formula 1, so thanks to the Alpine team for reaching this agreement," said Aron.

The Estonian also spoke about the great opportunity to race at the top level: "It's no secret that my desire is to race full-time in F1 someday, so any opportunity to be on track in a competitive environment is an important step. While I remain focused on my development with Alpine, I'm looking forward to the two sessions with Sauber and giving them my best effort at Silverstone and Budapest."

In addition to this experience, Aron, who this year has had an intense private testing program with Alpine, will also get into the car in the Free Practice 1 sessions assigned to him with the Enstone team.

Alpine's future

Thanks to its recent results, the French team plans to continue with Franco Colapinto as Pierre Gasly's teammate after a difficult streak of five races. However, the de facto team principal, Flavio Briatore, publicly asked the Argentine to raise his level.

Meanwhile, paddock rumors suggest Alpine could consider Valtteri Bottas, current Mercedes reserve driver and winner of 10 Grands Prix, as an alternative if the Argentine fails to improve his performance.