Franco Colapinto pays tribute to Lionel Messi and Co. with his Qatar Grand Prix helmet design

Franco Colapinto tributes Argentina
Franco Colapinto tributes Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup victory in special helmet for Qatar GP (Getty Images)

Williams Racing's Franco Colapinto will wear a special helmet during the 2024 F1 Qatar Grand Prix to pay tribute to the Argentina national football team. Argentina won its third FIFA World Cup in the country in 2022.

Franco Colapinto is the first Argentine driver on the F1 grid in more than two decades. The 21-year-old unveiled his special helmet for the Qatar Sprint Weekend, which is set to be his eighth Grand Prix. His helmet featured the FIFA World Cup Trophy, which was last lifted by his country, as they won the 2022 edition of the tournament held in Qatar.

The helmet has stunning visuals featuring predominantly blue tones, to pay homage to the Argentine national flag which is also displayed on either side. On the back, it features three stars, representing his country's three FIFA World Cups, and illustrations of the players who took part in the 2022 tournament. At the center, it features La Albiceleste's captain, Lionel Messi, kissing the trophy.

Franco Colapinto was signed by Williams mid-season to replace Logan Sargeant. The latter had failed to score points all season long and wasn't really helping the team with his consistent crashes. He had been driving with them since the 2023 season and had only managed to secure a solitary point. Meanwhile, Colapinto proved much more competitive as he has already scored five points with seven rounds of F1 experience.


Franco Colapinto confident despite recent crashes

Franco Colapinto ahead of the F1 Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit - Source: Getty
Franco Colapinto ahead of the F1 Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit - Source: Getty

As competitive as he has been on the track, Colapinto still lacks experience more than any other driver on the current F1 grid. He had quite a few shunts in the recent races, notably the one in Las Vegas which left him with a 50G impact as he hit the wall. He also crashed during the Brazilian Grand Prix on a soaking track.

Despite the crashes, however, the Argentine claims to be confident. Heading into Qatar, he was asked if the recent crashes have had an impact on him. He replied:

"No, I’m showing what I can do. The confidence is not going down because of that, I think that’s the important part. I am fully confident and I trust in what the team can do and I know what I can do. We still have two races to go; we are going to push until the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi and try to maximise what we have. Of course, it wasn’t ideal in the last two races."
"There were five great races, the ones before, and two that we struggled. In Vegas I was feeling very good, very confident with the car, I was doing good laps in qualifying and unfortunately that last run in Q2 was very messy. It put me in a situation to push more the limits and get closer to the walls. I just got a bit too close. It’s part of the process," he added.

Despite his competitive performance, Franco Colapinto will not race with Williams in the 2025 season. Carlos Sainz, who will depart from Ferrari at the end of the season, is set to join the team alongside Alex Albon. However, the 21-year-old has showcased his skills enough for teams to think of him as an option in the future and is reportedly being eyed by both Red Bull and Alpine for the upcoming season.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar
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