"You think you're defending me": Colapinto tells toxic fans to stop, and steps away from social media
After more than a year of abuse aimed at Doohan, Tsunoda, Ocon, Gasly, Norris and even the stewards, Franco Colapinto has asked his own fans to stop. Here's what he said, and how it got here.
Franco Colapinto has asked part of his own fanbase to stop. In a video posted to Instagram this week, the Alpine driver spoke directly to his supporters about the abuse some of them send to other drivers, his teammate and even his own team, and revealed he has stepped away from social media.
It’s the most personal message yet from a driver whose passionate Argentine following has become one of the most talked-about, and most troubling, stories in the paddock.
Colapinto spoke in Spanish. The quotes below are from a rough English translation shared by fans, checked against Spanish-language reports.
“There’s something very important I’ve needed to talk to you about”
Colapinto opened by saying this had been on his mind for a while. “I shouldn’t really have to speak to all of you about this,” he said, “but it’s something necessary that we have to change.”
He was careful to start with thanks. He said he feels lucky to have had his fans “from the beginning”, that their support pushes him to go for more, and that he knows how proud they feel when he scores points.
“We go over the line”
Then came the turn. “There are times when we go over the line,” he said, “when instead of supporting me we end up criticizing, we end up attacking other drivers, other colleagues, my teammates, my mechanics, my engineers, people I work with day in and day out.”
Notice the “we”. He never blamed his fans as outsiders. He spoke as one of them.
“You think you’re defending me”
The key line was aimed squarely at the most extreme accounts: “I know you’re thinking that you’re defending me, but you’re actually doing the opposite.”
“You don’t help me or my future,” he said, asking fans to help him stop it “all of us together”, and adding: “We have to try to improve as a society.”
Stepping away from social media
Colapinto also confirmed he made the decision some time ago “to take a break from social networks”, to focus on his racing and on getting results with the team.
He reassured fans they wouldn’t lose him. “You’re not going to miss me,” he said. “We’re going to keep seeing each other at the races.”
“Through the good times and the bad”
He finished on a positive note, asking fans to keep backing him and Alpine “like a big team, supporting each other through the good times and the bad”, and promising to see them soon “at the races closer to home”, with Mexico City and São Paulo coming up on the calendar.
Why it matters: a long history
The video didn’t come out of nowhere. Abuse from a section of Colapinto’s fans has followed almost every flashpoint of his F1 career. The timeline is long:
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Early 2025 | Jack Doohan is targeted as Colapinto is linked to his Alpine seat, and later describes receiving graphic death threats |
| May 2025, Imola | A fake post falsely shows Doohan’s father mocking Colapinto’s crash. Yuki Tsunoda receives racist abuse after a practice incident |
| April 2026, China | Esteban Ocon apologises for a collision with Colapinto, and still receives insults and death threats |
| August 2026, Netherlands | After a drive-through penalty for Colapinto, the stewards are personally attacked online |
| September 2026, Madrid | Pierre Gasly, his girlfriend and his family receive threats after Gasly is accused of holding Colapinto up |
| September 2026, Baku | Lando Norris reports online abuse and death threats after an on-track clash with Colapinto |
Alpine, the FIA and Gasly have all had enough
After the Dutch Grand Prix, the FIA said that disagreeing with decisions “must never justify threats or personal attacks.”
Gasly called the threats against his family “completely unacceptable”. Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore went further, warning that if the attacks continued, “Franco will stop speaking to Argentine television.”
“It comes from every fanbase”
Colapinto has also pointed out that he’s on the receiving end too. After the Baku clash with Norris, he said the problem is not just his fans: “I think it comes from every fanbase of every driver. Some are worse than others.”
“I get loads of it, and no one ever talks about it,” he added. “We are the ones to not fuel them more.”
Will it work?
Fans reacting online are split. Many praised the message as mature and overdue. Others doubt the most extreme accounts will listen, and some argue sections of Argentine sports media keep stirring things up after every incident.
What’s different this time is who it’s coming from. Teams, the FIA and rival drivers have all condemned the abuse before. This is the first time Colapinto has looked straight down the camera and told his own fans they’re hurting him.
