Franco Colapinto has spoken out about the storm of criticism he faced after the Turn 1 incident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Alpine driver stressed that he also receives social media abuse, but claims 'no one ever talks about it.'
The incident began when Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris were caught in a pile-up triggered by Colapinto's lock-up at the safety car restart. Norris, visibly furious, even called for race bans for drivers causing such chaos. His comments sparked a wave of hateful messages, particularly from Argentine fans, Colapinto's home country. Alpine issued a statement condemning the abuse, the fourth time since Colapinto joined the team in early 2025.
'My message is always the same,' Colapinto said in Sepang on Thursday. 'Sometimes they don't realise what you can create by writing on your keyboard. We are all very sensitive, we are humans.' He added that the abuse doesn't only come from Argentine fans but from all over the world and many other fanbases. 'I get loads of it. No one ever talks about it,' he said.
Colapinto admitted he doesn't look at social media much, but knows it affects others more. 'I hope they improve. I've been asking for a long time, it's tricky for us drivers to control it. We are also struggling to improve the situation by ourselves, because we tried,' he explained. He emphasised that he has been speaking about this issue since last year and is doing his best, though change is difficult.
Colapinto believes drivers should work together to improve the situation, especially with their words. 'I think he was in the heat of the moment,' Colapinto said of Norris' comments. 'Of course, he knows what comments create because he suffered from it too.' Norris has since apologised for his remarks.
The Baku incident was a blow for Alpine in the constructors' championship. Losing points due to the collision put them under further pressure, while Gasly also suffered a DNF. Colapinto, in his first full season, continues to learn to handle pressure both on and off the track.
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