Paul Aron to get Alpine F1 drive again, this time at Monza
Estonian racing driver Paul Aron will get another Formula One opportunity this week, driving for Alpine in first practice at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza at the weekend.
Aron, 21, is this season a test and reserve driver for the BWT Alpine F1 Team, seen as a stepping stone to a full F1 career. He already took the wheel in practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix this season.
"I'm excited for the first free practice session with the team this weekend," Aron said in a team statement. "I'm grateful to the team for giving me the opportunity to get back behind the wheel again so soon.
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— Sport Chronicle (@SportFilesF1) September 2, 2026
Estonian driver Paul Aron will take part in the first free practice session in Italy with Alpine. He will replace Pierre Gasly in the cockpit. #F1 #ItalianGP #Alpine pic.twitter.com/M8yRy6QHY4
"I was delighted with my session in Budapest and hope to build on that here, especially by helping the team with our upgrade package, which I have driven with in the simulator," he went on.
"It will be a busy weekend, as I'll be in the simulator in Enstone on Friday evening to help the team further fine-tune the setup before returning on Saturday," the Estonian continued. "I'll give it everything to hopefully contribute to a successful weekend for the team."
Aron made his first official practice appearance of the season for Alpine at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, where he took part in Friday's free practice.
Alpine's starting drivers are Pierre Gasly (France) and Franco Colapinto (Argentina); Aron deputized for Colapinto in Hungary and is now filling in for Gasly in Italy. The team is French, though based at Enstone in Oxfordshire, England, and traces its DNA back as far as the Toleman team of the early 1980s, which became Benetton and subsequently Renault.
This year's Italian Grand Prix weekend starts this Friday with the race on Sunday as per tradition. There are still another nine races left in 2026, with Kimi Antonelli (Italy) topping the drivers' table for Mercedes with 242 points, over his teammate, Britain's George Russel, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), both on 183 points.
No Estonian has yet raced full-time in F1 even as its northern neighbor, Finland, has had several down the years, three of them becoming world champions.
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