Alpine has introduced a driving providers settlement with Sauber that may have reserve driver Paul Aron participate in FP1 on the British Grand Prix for the Swiss crew.
Aron was named one among Alpine’s reserves final yr in direction of the top of a Formulation 2 title problem racing for Hitech – the crew part-owned by the then-Alpine crew principal Oliver Oakes. The Estonian drove in the course of the Abu Dhabi post-race take a look at and has accomplished six days in a 2023 automobile as a part of Alpine’s testing of earlier automobile (TPC) program, however has but to characteristic in an FP1 session.
That may change this weekend at Silverstone – in addition to on the Hungaroring in July – however will probably be for Sauber relatively than Alpine, following an settlement between the 2 groups that provides Sauber entry to Aron’s providers.
“It’s in our pursuits to maximise any driving alternatives for our younger expertise, so it’s good to have an settlement with Sauber for Paul to drive in Free Observe 1 in Silverstone and Budapest,” Alpine govt director and performing crew principal Flavio Briatore stated.
“We’re seeing assorted success from final yr’s Formulation 2 drivers this yr up and down the grid, and Paul was a entrance runner in that class, so this is a chance for him and the crew to proceed his progress and to offer him priceless observe time.”
Aron may also perform three FP1 classes for Alpine between now and the top of the season, with the crew having solely run Ryo Hirakawa at Suzuka up to now this yr. That may give Aron a complete of 5 outings throughout 2025, as Alpine assesses its choices for its 2026 driver lineup.
“I’m more than happy to be given the chance to have priceless observe time in Formulation 1, so because of BWT Alpine Formulation One Crew for coming to this association,” Aron stated. “It’s no secret that my want is to in the future race full-time in Formulation 1 so any probability to be on observe in a aggressive atmosphere is a vital stepping stone.
“Whereas I proceed to deal with my improvement with Alpine, I do stay up for the 2 classes with Stake F1 Crew KICK Sauber and giving my most effort to them at Silverstone and Budapest.”