Alpine announce F1 driver debut at Italian Grand Prix

A driver will make their debut with Alpine at the Italian GP

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Accredited motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 4 September 2025 12:56

A driver will make their debut with Alpine at the Italian Grand Prix after an official announcement from the F1 team.

The team have confirmed that at Monza this weekend, their reserve driver Paul Aron will get behind the wheel of an Alpine F1 car for FP1.

Aron’s session with Alpine at Monza marks his debut with the team in an F1 session, but not his first appearance in FP1.

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The Estonian driver was originally on loan to Sauber for a practice session at Silverstone and in Hungary, where he replaced Nico Hulkenberg on both occasions.

Aron finished P17 and ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto at Silverstone, but last during FP1 at the Hungaroring - although the youngster did not manage to take part in a full session of running due to an issue with his Sauber.

Alpine’s decision to give Aron a seat for an FP1 session is part of F1’s rookie rule, where it is mandatory for teams to run a rookie on two occasions in each car, making it a total of four appearances for the sport’s up and coming drivers.

Alongside Alpine, McLaren have also announced Alex Dunne will take part in FP1 at Monza for his first appearance since his impressive run at the Austrian GP.

Aron handed immediate Alpine F1 drive

Ahead of this weekend's Italian GP at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Alpine announced Aron's drive via social media platform 'X', writing: "Stepping in for FP1 at the #ItalianGP. @PaulAron16 will make his first appearance in the A525 this weekend, as part of his Reserve Driver duties."

Current Alpine driver Franco Colapinto, is a man under pressure and is still the only serving driver on the grid without a single point to his name in 2025.

At the Dutch GP, Alpine executive Flavio Briatore admitted that Colapinto had been promoted to F1 too quickly and revealed he was unsure about the driver’s future in the sport.

If Aron continues to impress in FP1, alongside private tests and simulator sessions with Alpine, he could be a potential candidate to race at the team.

However, Alpine may not want to take another gamble on a young driver, with both Jack Doohan and Colapinto unable to achieve consistent results for the team so far this season.

In a major blow for Alpine, two experienced driver options have been taken off the market, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez Cadillac-bound in 2026.

Stepping in for FP1 at the #ItalianGP 🇮🇹@PaulAron16 will make his first appearance in the A525 this weekend, as part of his Reserve Driver duties 🤝 pic.twitter.com/ln7O4KJO2F
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) September 3, 2025

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Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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Alpine Italian Grand Prix