Pierre Gasly will miss the first free practice session during the Formula 1 Italian GP weekend. Alpine has confirmed Paul Aron as the Frenchman’s replacement in FP1 at Monza.
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This participation of the Estonian is part of fulfilling the requirements for young drivers, while Gasly will have to give up the car in another FP1 session before the end of the season. Franco Colapinto will also still need to do the same this year.
Aron had already taken Colapinto’s place in FP1 at the Hungarian GP and will return to drive the A526 in Monza. The driver also participated in two FP1 sessions for Audi in 2026, replacing Nico Hulkenberg in Barcelona and Gabriel Bortoleto in Austria.
With the activity in Monza, Aron will reach his ninth participation in an FP1 since 2024, all for Stake/Audi and Alpine. He will be the second young driver confirmed for FP1 next weekend, alongside Luke Browning, who will again take a Williams car.
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Aron said he is pleased with the opportunity and highlighted that he intends to contribute to the evaluation of Alpine’s upgrade package: “I hope to develop this time, particularly helping the team compare our latest upgrade package, which I drove in the simulator,” added the Estonian.
The driver also revealed he will have a busy schedule during the weekend, working on Alpine’s simulator in Enstone on Friday night before returning to the track on Saturday: “I will give my all to, hopefully, help the team have a successful weekend,” Aron concluded.
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