Franco Colapinto has vocally asked Argentinian fans to stop online abuse after several incidents in the last couple of months.
Following the Zandvoort, Madrid and Baku races, hateful comments were directed at FIA stewards, Pierre Gasly and his family, and Lando Norris, among others. This has been a recurring theme in the 2026 Formula 1 season, prompting Alpine to regularly release statements to try and combat the vituperation.
Colapinto had previously been coy when it came to taking a stand on this matter; in Baku he meekly labelled the behaviour as “not nice to see”, and after causing the Turn 1 pile-up in Azerbaijan, he nuanced the situation.
“I think we miss that it doesn't come only from Argentinians,” Colapinto then said. “It comes a lot from them, I fully agree, [but] it doesn't just come from them. They are extremely passionate and they support me a lot. It's bad. They are bad many times.
“But it comes from all the world and from many other fanbases. I don't know if we are not seeing it. I get loads of it. No one ever talks about it.”
On Thursday, the Argentine went on to make his strongest statement to date in a bid to curb his fanbase’s frenzy – he directly told his fans that they ‘sometimes went too far’ and ‘were not helping him or his future’.
“Hello everyone, there’s something very important that I’ve needed to talk to you about for some time,” Colapinto said in a Spanish-language video posted on Instagram. “I probably should have spoken to all of you sooner, but this is something that needs to be addressed, something we need to change and improve.
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“I will always be grateful, and I genuinely feel incredibly fortunate, to have had you all supporting me from the very beginning.
“I’m grateful for all the support you give me, for how you help me achieve results, and for how you constantly push me to aim higher. You help me and the team achieve our results, race after race, day after day, as we train and try to improve. And I’m genuinely grateful for all of that.
“I know it makes you incredibly proud when things go well for me, when I score points for myself and the team. And I have always been very grateful for that support.
“But sometimes, we go too far. Instead of supporting me, we end up criticising people and attacking other drivers, other colleagues, my team-mates, my mechanics, my engineers – people I work with every single day.
“I know you think you’re defending me, but you’re actually doing the opposite. You’re not helping me or my future.”
Colapinto’s immediate future is secure, with the 23-year-old having clinched a new Alpine deal for the 2027 season back in August. He currently lies 12th in the 2026 standings with 27 points to his name, while team-mate Gasly is 10th on 41 points.
Read Also:
Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027