Franco Colapinto issues plea after social media attacks
Colapinto has pleaded for his fans to stop attacks on social media
Franco Colapinto has pleaded with fans to stop “attacking” F1 drivers and personnel on social media after a series of recent incidents.
Colapinto’s fans have been particularly vocal on social media since the Argentinian joined the F1 grid.
Franco Colapinto says fans are ‘not helping me or my future’
Colapinto has one of the louder fanbases of any F1 driver on the current roster, with this passion sometimes overflowing on social media.
In recent months, this has seen both Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and reigning champion Lando Norris find themselves in the crosshairs.
In Gasly’s case, this came after the Frenchman was not instructed to allow Colapinto past while on differing strategies in Madrid.
For Norris, the flashpoint came after Colapinto collided with him and Gasly in Azerbaijan; an incident that led Norris to suggest a race ban was deserved. Norris has since retracted this heat-of-the-moment statement.
Following the former incident, Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore threatened a complete media blackout of Colapinto if the abuse did not cease.
Speaking in his native tongue on social media, Colapinto said: “Hello everyone. There’s something very important that I’ve needed to talk to you about for some time.
“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.
“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 teammates, 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.”
Alpine will be joined by new title partner Gucci next year, and it is unlikely that the major fashion brand would want to be caught up in controversy such as that which has been generated by certain sections of Colapinto’s fanbase this year.
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He continued: “I really want you to understand that this is something we all need to change together.
“We need to try to become better as a society. And if you want to help me perform better, continue achieving my goals and results, and keep scoring points, then I need you to help me put a stop to this. We all need to do it together.
“We’re going to keep fighting and working hard for better results.
“Obviously, some time ago, I made the decision to step away from social media and take a break from it. I want to focus on what really matters to me: my dream, my racing career, and working with the team to achieve the results we want and the goals we need to reach.
“So I wanted to let you know that you won’t be missing me for long. We’ll continue seeing each other at the races, and we’ll keep following and supporting one another.
“So let’s give it everything we’ve got! Let’s keep pushing hard so those good results come back, so those points start coming in again.
“Let’s give it our all as one big team. Let’s support one another and stand by each other through the good times and the bad.
“And I’m sure we’ll see each other again very, very soon at the races, closer to home.
“Sending you all a huge hug. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for understanding, for supporting me, and for always being there.”
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