Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Formula Scout caught up with F3 race-winner Franco Colapinto to find out why he has been trending online
Aside from football, it is generally rare for athletes from second, third or even lower divisions in their sport to make headlines outside of specialist press and to trend online at a national scale. When such competitions do get wider attention, it tends to be following a negative event or because of the involvement of a famous name or brand.
Last week, junior single-seater racing became a hot topic in Argentina as fans made ‘#FranColapintoaF2’ trend on Twitter in the country and even celebrities got involved in what was a widespread online call of support for FIA Formula 3 race-winner Franco Colapinto’s ambitions to step up to Formula 2 next year.
Colapinto is currently a Williams Formula 1 junior and is looking for the budget to secure one of the few remaining seats on the 2024 F2 grid. Rather than a crowdfunding effort, which racing drivers have turned to in the past, Colapinto’s own fans instigated a media buzz with the purpose of attracting the attention of potential sponsors who could plug the budget hole.
To explain how effective that fan-led push has been, and what his plans are for the rest of 2023, Colapinto joined the Formula Scout Podcast for this week’s episode. You can listen it on Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify or below.