Franco Colapinto's following in Argentina skyrocketed last year, and he became a household name. With Bahia Blanca being affected by floods, he reposted a post of his friend on X, which earned him mass criticism from netizens. The 21-year-old has broken his silence on the issue and condemned people for taking things out of context.
Colapinto surged in fame last year after he was brought in by Williams to replace ousted Logan Sargeant. The rookie driver started nine races and earned nine points in the 2024 season.
The Argentinian's campaign and amiable nature made him one of the fan favorite drivers, especially in South America. However, the Argentinian city of Bahia Blanca was hit with floods, and hundreds of people were trapped in their buildings.
This led people to call for action, including Franco Colapinto's coach Lucas Benamo, who urged the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, to look into the matter and wrote on his X:
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"President @JMilei Bahia Blanca is in Argentina! What is happening is a tragedy! Urgent national emergency!! There are dead!!! Enough of political wars and work together with the province!! Devastated hospitals, people who lost everything, what are they waiting for? Damn it!!!!"
Colapinto reposted the post, which has now been deleted after criticism from netizens. However, he was unhappy with how people misunderstood the urgency of the situation and wrote on X:
"A tweet from someone who is like my brother, desperate because he has his family on the second floor with the whole house flooded in the bay, a lot of acquaintances who are the same. I posted it for that reason and for a lot of people who lost everything. Not because of the politicians!! I have no idea about politics! They are all crazy on Twitter." (Translated)
The 21-year-old was signed to Alpine on a multi-year contract as a reserve driver. He is noted as a threat to Jack Doohan's seat before the end of the 2025 season.
Franco Colapinto's manager calls out fans for their online behavior
While fans supported Franco Colapinto in his journey to the Enstone-based squad, they took various other measures to help the Argentinian get back on the grid. However, some fans took a harsh route and left inappropriate comments on the Alpine F1 team and Jack Doohan's social media posts.
Reflecting on the hate on the internet, Colapinto's manager lashed out on fans' behavior and wrote:
"Well said! The haters who think they help Franco. You are doing him more harm than good. Insults to the team, to Jack and sometimes to other supporters of Alpine. Franco and all of us who support him are fans of the whole team, Pierre and Jack. Conduct yourselves with passion but not abuse and arrogance. Franco’s time will come but not like this, you will achieve the opposite."
The 2025 F1 season is slated to start at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
