You Think You Are Defending Me, but You Are Not

There is a particular kind of loneliness that comes with being cheered for the wrong reasons. Franco Colapinto, the 23-year-old Argentine driver for Alpine, has felt the warmth of a nation's pride since he became the first Argentine in Formula 1 in more than two decades. But in recent months, that warmth has taken a form he no longer recognizes, and this week he chose to speak, not as a driver defending his position, but as a young man asking for something simpler: restraint.

In a video posted on Instagram late Wednesday, Colapinto addressed his fanbase directly. His words were translated from Spanish, but their meaning carried across any language. "I know you think you are defending me," he said, "but you are doing the opposite. You are not helping me or my future, and I really want you to understand that it is something we have to change all together".

The message followed a season marked by incidents that drew hostile attention to his colleagues. After the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, teammate Pierre Gasly faced abuse after preventing Colapinto from overtaking him. Gasly later said his family members and girlfriend had also been targeted. A few weeks later, Lando Norris received abuse after suggesting Colapinto did not deserve a spot on the grid, comments Norris later apologized for. FIA race stewards were also targeted after Colapinto received a penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Alpine has issued multiple statements condemning the online abuse, and de facto team boss Flavio Briatore threatened a media blackout on Colapinto if the behavior continued. But this week's video marked the most direct and personal intervention from Colapinto himself.

"There are times when we go over the line," he said in the video. "Instead of supporting me, we end up criticizing, attacking other drivers, other colleagues, my teammates, my mechanics, my engineers — people I work with day in and day out". He acknowledged that he "probably should have spoken to all of you sooner," and expressed genuine gratitude for the support that has followed him since his debut with Williams in 2024.

The abuse has not been confined to the digital realm. Jack Doohan, the driver Colapinto replaced at Alpine, said in 2025 that he and his family had faced abuse from Argentine fans. The issue reached the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who released a statement giving his full support to Gasly and calling the online abuse "completely unacceptable".

Colapinto also revealed that he had stepped away from social media some time ago to focus on racing, a decision that reflects the toll the environment has taken. "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," he said.

The paradox at the heart of Colapinto's message is one that many public figures face: the same passion that fuels support can, when untempered, become a weapon that harms the very person it claims to defend. "To help me have a better performance, to help get my dream and my results, that is, to score points, I need you to help stop this, all of us together," he said.

The next race is the United States Grand Prix in Austin on October 23-25.

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Sources: The New York Times, Sky Sports, The Independent, AP News, Buenos Aires Herald, GPblog