Colapinto Places 14th in Final Practice at Hungaroring

Franco Colapinto finished 14th in the third and final free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Lando Norris topped the timesheets with a 1:17.939. The McLaren driver was just 0.117 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Kimi Antonelli a further 0.012 seconds back in third.

The session was briefly halted by a red flag when Sergio Pérez’s car stopped on track. When running resumed, positions continued to shuffle as teams fine-tuned their setups. For Colapinto, the session was about reclaiming lost ground after a difficult Friday in which a crash limited his running.

The Argentine, driving for Alpine, improved from the back of the field early on and eventually set a best lap of 1:20.055 — enough for 14th, just under three‑tenths slower than teammate Pierre Gasly in 12th (1:19.723). The Alpine pair remained in the lower part of the midfield, with the top teams a second or more ahead.

Qualifying is scheduled for 11 a.m. Argentina time (4 p.m. local time), with the 70‑lap race to follow on Sunday.

Where Colapinto Stands Ahead of Qualifying

Colapinto’s primary goal on Saturday was simply to log clean laps after his Friday incident. In that sense, 14th represents a modest recovery, but the gap to Gasly and the leaders leaves little margin for error heading into qualifying.

The Alpine car has consistently been in the lower midfield this weekend, making a Q3 appearance unlikely. For Colapinto, the immediate task is to out‑qualify his teammate and position himself to capitalise on any first‑lap chaos at the tight Hungaroring. With the field so close in the midfield, even a small gain could mean the difference between a points‑scoring opportunity and an early exit.