Alpine reserve Aron to drive for Sauber in Silverstone FP1

Alpine has announced a driving services agreement with Sauber that will have reserve driver Paul Aron take part in FP1 at the British Grand Prix for the Swiss team.

Aron was named one of Alpine’s reserves last year towards the end of a Formula 2 title challenge racing for Hitech – the team part-owned by the then-Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes. The Estonian drove during the Abu Dhabi post-race test and has completed six days in a 2023 car as part of Alpine’s testing of previous car (TPC) program, but has yet to feature in an FP1 session.

That will change this weekend at Silverstone – as well as at the Hungaroring in July – but it will be for Sauber rather than Alpine, following an agreement between the two teams that gives Sauber access to Aron’s services.

“It is in our interests to maximise any driving opportunities for our young talent, so it is good to have an agreement with Sauber for Paul to drive in Free Practice 1 in Silverstone and Budapest,” Alpine executive director and acting team principal Flavio Briatore said.

“We are seeing varied success from last year's Formula 2 drivers this year up and down the grid, and Paul was a front runner in that category, so this is an opportunity for him and the team to continue his progress and to give him valuable track time.”

Aron will also carry out three FP1 sessions for Alpine between now and the end of the season, with the team having only run Ryo Hirakawa at Suzuka so far this year. That will give Aron a total of five outings across 2025, as Alpine assesses its options for its 2026 driver lineup.

“I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to have valuable track time in Formula 1, so thanks to BWT Alpine Formula One Team for coming to this arrangement,” Aron said. “It is no secret that my desire is to one day race full-time in Formula 1 so any chance to be on track in a competitive environment is an important stepping stone.

“While I continue to focus on my development with Alpine, I do look forward to the two sessions with Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber and giving my maximum effort to them at Silverstone and Budapest.”