Colapinto tells fans online abuse is 'doing the opposite' of helping his F1 future

Franco Colapinto addressed his fanbase directly on Thursday in a Spanish-language Instagram video, telling them that online abuse directed at rival drivers, FIA stewards, and his own Alpine colleagues was “doing the opposite” of helping him and was putting his future at risk.

The 23-year-old Argentine’s statement is the most forceful he has made on a subject that has shadowed the 2026 Formula 1 season. Following races at Zandvoort, Madrid, and Baku, hateful comments were aimed at FIA stewards, Pierre Gasly and his family, and Lando Norris, among others. Alpine has repeatedly released statements attempting to address the abuse, but Colapinto himself had largely stayed on the sidelines — describing the behaviour only as “not nice to see” after the Baku round.

“I will always be grateful, and I genuinely feel incredibly fortunate, to have had you all supporting me from the very beginning,” Colapinto said in the video. “But sometimes, we go too far. Instead of supporting me, we end up criticizing people and attacking other drivers, other colleagues, my team-mates, my mechanics, my engineers — people I work with every single day.”

He was unambiguous about the effect: “I know you think you’re defending me, but you’re actually doing the opposite. You’re not helping me or my future.”

After the Baku pile-up at Turn 1, which Colapinto was involved in causing, he had also pushed back against the idea that the abuse was exclusively an Argentinian phenomenon. “It comes a lot from them, I fully agree, but it doesn’t just come from them,” he said at the time. “It comes from all the world and from many other fanbases. I get loads of it. No one ever talks about it.”

Despite the controversy surrounding his fanbase, Colapinto’s place on the grid is not in doubt. He secured a new Alpine contract for the 2027 season in August, giving him a stable platform as he continues to develop in Formula 1.