Colton Herta expected in tests with Alpine F1 Team

After learning that Jack Doohan and Nyck de Vries were going to run private tests with Alpine at the Hungaroring between the Italian and Singapore GPs (September 30 – October 2), AUTOhebdo also got wind of the probable presence of Colton Herta in Budapest.

The French team, which must announce the identity of the teammate ofEsteban Ocon for 2023 by the end of September, will normally run 4 drivers in the theater of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the wheel of the A521 lined up last year.

If Herta is not on the list of candidates, the Californian is nevertheless one of the major players in the saga triggered by the departure of Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin and the refusal toOscar piastri to be promoted expensive Alpine.

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Indeed, Herta is emphatically announced on the side ofAlpha Tauri as part of a deal that would see him replace Pierre Gasly, thatAlpine wants to leave before the end of his contract Red Bull, scheduled for 2023. By offering him a trial run, the Blues would allow the Austrian clan to best evaluate him with a view to promotion F1.

The seven-time winner IndyCar, the youngest victorious driver in the category, however, does not have the 40 points necessary to obtain the Super License, the key to accessing F1. In fact, there are only 32 of them.

While Red Bull thought it could negotiate an exemption with the competent authorities, neither the FIA, nor F1, nor even Colton Herta's entourage seems ready to accept such a favor. Hence the doubt surrounding the presence of the young American (22 years old) at the Hungaroring.

Asked by AUTOhebdo on the identity of the pilots in action in Budapest, Alpine replied that the team “ did not comment on the content of the private tests ».