Formula 1 gained a strong sign of popularity in Argentina. According to Motorsport.com, Franco Colapinto gathered around 600,000 people at an event in Buenos Aires, boosting the desire for the category’s return to the country.
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Out of the calendar for almost thirty years, Argentina saw a crowd attend a street event in the Palermo neighborhood, surpassing the audience of many GPs. The Alpine driver was the main highlight, reinforcing his status as a local idol after debuting in the category in 2024 and transferring to the French team in 2025.
Colapinto drove a Lotus E20 model, with a V8 Renault engine, performing two exhibitions and thrilling the public with intense accelerations and maneuvers, including the famous ‘donuts’. The closing was marked by a sequence of spins with the engine at its limit, leaving the car in flames, as he had promised before the event.
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The Argentine also celebrated the country’s history in the category by driving a replica of the Mercedes W196, the model with which Juan Manuel Fangio won F1 titles. Along the way, he interacted with the public at various points of the improvised circuit.
Excited, Colapinto took the opportunity to send a direct message to the category: “We deserve to return to the calendar and have a race again,” he stated. He also celebrated the moment: “It was an incredible day, a dream come true, I am very happy to share this with everyone who has always supported me,” he added.
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