Franco Colapinto thrills 600,000 fans in Buenos Aires Alpine homecoming

Franco Colapinto drove on the streets of Buenos Aires over the weekend, with Alpine confirming its driver attracted around 600,000 people to the special event.

Colapinto, born and raised in Argentina’s capital, is only the second driver from his home nation to race in Formula 1 this century, after Gaston Mazzacane, and his demo run had been highly anticipated.

Franco Colapinto draws estimated 600,000-strong crowd for Buenos Aires event

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Taking ‘Team Enstone’s’ E20 for a spin, when Alpine ran as Lotus in the 2012 season, Colapinto drove in front of an enormous amount of supporters and greeted fans as he drew an estimated crowd exceeding that of most race weekends on the Formula 1 calendar.

A 2km street circuit was constructed for the event, spanning through Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Sarmiento in the Palermo district of the city, on which Colapinto took the former Lotus, rebranded in Alpine colours, for two show runs, along with a run in a replica Mercedes W196, the car in which Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio took two of his five World Championships in 1954 and ’55 respectively.

The Alpine driver took time to greet supporters at different points around the circuit, also performing donuts along the way as a car from Formula 1’s V8 era was on show.

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Colapinto became a huge sporting star in Argentina almost overnight when he joined the grid with Williams back in 2024, and while he did not stay with the team in 2025, a reserve role with Alpine quickly turned into a race seat upon his mid-season replacement of Jack Doohan.

The Autódromo de Oscar y Juan Gálvez was formerly a fixture on the Formula 1 calendar, hosting the Argentine Grand Prix 20 times on and off up until the sport’s most recent visit in 1998.

The circuit is currently undergoing upgrades to host MotoGP from 2027.

Alpine sits fifth in the early Constructors’ Championship as Formula 1 prepares for the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.

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