Fernando Alonso suffers injury and could miss Hungarian GP as replacement named
It has not yet been decided whether Alonso will be able to race this weekend. If not, then Drugovich will continue to drive for the team and will be in line to make his long-awaited competitive Formula 1 debut, alongside their other driver Lance Stroll.
A statement from the team read: "In the days following the Belgian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has been managing a muscular injury in his back. As he continues with treatment this morning, he has chosen to sit out of FP1.
"Felipe Drugovich will drive in FP1 alongside Lance Stroll. A decision will then be made on Fernando's participation in FP2 and the remainder of the weekend in due course."
Alonso is the oldest current driver on the F1 grid, having turned 44 on Tuesday this week. He has been experiencing pain in his back since last weekend's race at Spa-Francorchamps, where he finished 17th and a long way off the points as Aston Martin suffered a dismal weekend in the Ardennes Forest.
Drugovich has taken part in several free practice sessions for Aston Martin and so is an experienced operator in that regard. But he has yet to race in F1, having been stuck on the sidelines as the team's reserve driver since winning the Formula 2 title in 2022.
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There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and Mirror Sport will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.
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