Franco Colapinto urges fans to help him stop online abuse

Argentine Formula 1 driver Franco Colapinto asked his fans to “help [him]” stop online abuse directed at rivals, his teammate and other team staff.

In a video he posted on his Instagram account on Wednesday, the 23-year-old began his plea by admitting he feels “truly fortunate” to have had strong support from the Argentine fans since day one and that they “are always pushing [him] and the team to go for more.”

Colapinto also addressed claims that Argentine fans were too aggressive on social media.

“There are times when we cross the line, where instead of supporting me, we end up criticizing and attacking other drivers, other colleagues, my teammates, my mechanics, my engineers, people I work with every single day,” he said.

The Argentine driver said he understands the fans’ reactions stem from an attempt to defend him, but insisted they do not help him.

“I know you think you are defending me, but you are doing the opposite,” he said. “You are not helping me or my future, and this is something we all have to change together, something we have to improve as a society. To help me perform better and keep achieving my dreams, I need you to help me so we all together stop this.”

A history of controversy The relationship between Colapinto’s fans and F1 reached a boiling point recently, but trouble had been brewing for a long time.

In 2025, Jack Doohan — the driver Colapinto replaced at Alpine — said several Argentine fans abused him and his family. Doohan said he received threats that forced him to hire private security after a fake Instagram story in which his father supposedly laughed at the Argentine driver crashing got picked up by several media outlets in the country.

Red Bull’s Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda’s Instagram profile was filled with racially charged messages in English and Spanish after he and the Argentine driver ruffled feathers at that year’s Emilia Romagna GP. 

Last month, Alpine F1 team principal Flavio Briatore threatened a media blackout on Colapinto after teammate Pierre Gasly said he and his family had suffered social media abuse and threats following the Spanish Grand Prix.

Gasly said in an interview with the F1 outlet The Race that he had faced extensive social media backlash after holding up Colapinto during the race.

“I find it completely inappropriate, especially when it reaches out to family members, [my] girlfriend, etc. I don’t think that should be the case,” the 30-year-old driver said, adding that “a certain line that should not be crossed” had been “crossed many times” recently.

The issue even reached the president of world motorsport governing body FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who released a statement giving his “full support” to Gasly and calling the online abuse “completely unacceptable.”

A week later, McLaren’s Lando Norris earned the ire of the Argentine fans after suggesting he should get a “race ban” for their crash. The controversy even prompted Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno to weigh in, before Norris issued a public apology to Colapinto.