Pierre Gasly will give up the wheel of his Alpine to Paul Aron during the first free practice sessions in Monza, as part of the obligations imposed on the teams.
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Pierre Gasly will not immediately take to the track this weekend in Monza. Alpine has confirmed that the Frenchman will hand over his A526 to Paul Aron during the first free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix.
This will be the first session missed by Gasly this season. Aron is already familiar with the car as he replaced Franco Colapinto during FP1 of the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break.
Paul Aron takes over Gasly’s Alpine
This change complies with the regulatory obligations imposed on teams regarding the participation of young drivers. Each regular driver must give up their car during a certain number of free practice sessions throughout the season.
After Monza, both Gasly and Colapinto will still have to give up their seat once each during a first free practice session before the end of the championship.
For Aron, this new opportunity adds to an already particularly busy program. The Estonian driver has also participated in two sessions with Audi in 2026, replacing Nico Hülkenberg in Barcelona and Gabriel Bortoleto in Austria.
Already solid FP1 experience
The Monza session will thus be Aron’s ninth appearance in FP1 since 2024. All have been for Stake/Audi or Alpine, allowing him to gradually accumulate experience behind the wheel of Formula 1 cars.
“I look forward to getting back behind the wheel with the team during FP1 this weekend,” Aron says happily. “I am grateful to the team for giving me the chance to get back in the car so quickly.”
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The Estonian notably comes off a satisfactory performance in Hungary. “I was very happy with my session in Budapest and I hope to build on that this time, especially by helping the team compare our latest upgrade package, which I have already driven in the simulator.”
Alpine wants to evaluate its latest upgrades
Aron’s presence is therefore not only due to a regulatory obligation. Alpine also intends to take advantage of his work to gather data on the latest updates introduced on the A526.
The fact that the young driver has already tested these upgrades in the simulator should allow him to provide particularly interesting information by comparing the virtual sensations with the actual behavior of the car on the Monza circuit.
Aron will continue his work immediately after the session. Once his on-track obligations are completed, he will join Enstone to participate in preparations for the rest of the weekend.
From Monza to the Enstone simulator
The Estonian driver’s program promises to be particularly intense as he will do simulation work on Friday evening before returning to Italy the next day.
“It will be a busy weekend for me as I will be in the simulator at Enstone Friday evening to help the team further fine-tune the settings, before returning to the circuit on Saturday,” he explains.
“I will give it my all to, hopefully, help the team succeed this weekend.”
Aron will not be the only young driver to temporarily take the place of a regular driver on Friday in Monza. Williams has also confirmed that Luke Browning will once again participate in the first free practice sessions, while Gasly should normally regain his Alpine from the second session onwards.
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