Franco Colapinto has urged fans to stop attacking fellow drivers and Alpine staff, warning that online abuse could harm his future in Formula 1.

Franco Colapinto has delivered a strong message to his supporters, asking them to stop directing abuse at other drivers, engineers, mechanics and members of Alpine. In a video published on social media, the Argentine driver explained that hostile behaviour carried out in his name does not help his career and could undermine the very future his fans want to protect.

The Alpine driver acknowledged the extraordinary support he has received since reaching Formula 1. However, he also made clear that there is a difference between defending a driver and attacking the people around him. His message was direct: passionate support should never become harassment.

Colapinto Says Online Attacks Are Hurting His Future

Colapinto addressed his followers personally, thanking them for standing behind him throughout his career while asking them to reconsider how they express that support.

“Sé que están pensando que me están defendiendo, pero están generando lo contrario. No me ayudan ni a mí ni a mi futuro”, he explained in the video.

The message highlights a concern that has increasingly surrounded the Argentine’s time in Formula 1. Although his fan base has become one of the most visible sources of support for an Argentine driver on the international motorsport stage, some online exchanges have crossed the line into personal attacks against rivals and members of his own team.

Colapinto has asked his supporters to channel their passion into constructive backing rather than online abuse.

The driver also acknowledged how much the fans mean to him, describing himself as grateful for their support from the beginning. He recognised the role their encouragement has played in motivating him to keep pursuing better performances and results.

However, he warned that attacking other people is not a way to help him progress.

“There are times when we go too far,” Colapinto explained, referring to criticism and attacks directed at other drivers, teammates, mechanics and engineers who work alongside him every day.

His appeal is particularly relevant in Formula 1, where a driver’s performance depends on the coordinated work of a large team. Engineers, mechanics and other personnel contribute to preparing the car, developing its performance and executing race weekends.

Alpine Has Faced Repeated Online Abuse Controversies

Colapinto’s intervention comes after several controversies involving online hostility surrounding Alpine and its drivers during the 2026 season.

The team has previously responded to allegations of deliberate mistreatment involving Colapinto and his teammate Pierre Gasly. Such claims have fuelled arguments among sections of the fan base, sometimes turning sporting disagreements into accusations against individual team members.

Tensions escalated after an incident at the Spanish Grand Prix, when Gasly reported receiving threats that also involved his family. Alpine’s leadership subsequently urged supporters to back Colapinto respectfully rather than direct hostility towards other people.

Colapinto’s message emphasizes that supporting him should not come at the expense of his teammate or the Alpine personnel working with both drivers.

Further criticism followed incidents on track and difficult race weekends, including renewed accusations on social media about the team’s treatment of the Argentine. Alpine has stressed that sporting disagreements and disappointing results do not justify threats or abusive behaviour.

Colapinto’s latest statement reinforces that position from the driver’s perspective. Rather than allowing the controversy to grow, he has asked his followers to help change the atmosphere surrounding the team.

The message does not ask fans to stop supporting him or to ignore legitimate sporting criticism. Instead, it draws a distinction between questioning performance and targeting individuals with personal abuse.

Why Colapinto Is Taking a Break From Social Media

The Argentine also explained that he had decided to reduce his presence on social media to concentrate on his career and his work with Alpine.

He said he wanted to focus on his dream, his sporting development and the team’s objectives, rather than becoming distracted by the constant debate surrounding his performances.

That decision does not mean he wants to distance himself from his supporters. Colapinto specifically asked them to continue backing both him and Alpine, insisting that the team can achieve important results by working together.

Colapinto wants to concentrate on his performance and team objectives while maintaining a positive relationship with his supporters.

The distinction is important for a driver operating under intense public scrutiny. Social media can help athletes connect directly with fans, but it can also amplify rumours, hostility and personal criticism during difficult periods.

By stepping back, Colapinto appears intent on keeping his attention on the areas he can control: preparation, performance and collaboration with the team.

He also called for a collective effort to change the behaviour that has affected the atmosphere around Alpine. His message was not simply a request for restraint; it was an appeal for supporters to understand how their actions can affect the people they claim to defend.

Colapinto Wants Fans to Support Alpine as a Team

Colapinto closed his message by asking fans to stand behind him and Alpine in both good and bad moments. He expressed confidence that the team could achieve strong results if everyone remained united.

He also looked ahead to upcoming races in the Americas, where he hoped to reconnect with supporters closer to home.

The broader message is clear: Colapinto does not want to lose the passionate backing that helped him reach Formula 1. He wants that support to remain a positive force rather than become a source of conflict with his colleagues.

For a driver whose future depends on performance, teamwork and relationships within the paddock, the distinction matters. Attacks against teammates, engineers and mechanics cannot improve his results, and they risk damaging the environment in which he needs to work.

Colapinto has now made his position explicit. Fans can defend him, celebrate his achievements and demand better performances without harassing others. His request is for that support to strengthen his Formula 1 career, not create another obstacle along the way.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie heads to Barcelona seeking to extend its points streak and strengthen its position in the 2026 World Endurance Championship.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie will make its Spanish competition debut at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the FIA World Endurance Championship approaches the final two rounds of the 2026 season. The seventh round will take place at the 2.9-mile circuit in Montmeló, where Aston Martin THOR Team aims to build on a consistent run of results.

Barcelona marks the first appearance of the Spanish circuit on the WEC calendar. For Aston Martin, it represents another opportunity to demonstrate the Valkyrie’s progress against established rivals in the Hypercar class, with the season finale at Monza still to come.

Aston Martin Valkyrie Extends Its Points Streak

The Valkyrie arrives in Spain after scoring points in eight consecutive races. That run includes fourth-place finishes at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The team’s latest performance came at Fuji Speedway in Japan, where both Valkyries started inside the top six for the first time. The No. 007 car, driven by Britain’s Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell, also led during the race. Meanwhile, the No. 009 entry, shared by Spain’s Alex Riberas and Denmark’s Marco Sørensen, remained in contention for a podium before the final Safety Car period changed the race’s closing phase.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie showed front-running pace at Fuji, giving the team momentum heading into Barcelona.

The result reinforced the progress made by Aston Martin THOR Team throughout the campaign. However, the team must convert that speed into stronger finishing positions if it hopes to climb the manufacturers’ standings before the season ends.

Championship Standings Leave Room for Progress

Aston Martin sits sixth in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship with 54 points. The team is 42 points behind fourth place, with a maximum of 88 points still available across the Barcelona round and the season-ending 6 Hours of Monza on November 8.

That gap makes the remaining races particularly important. A strong result in Spain could improve Aston Martin’s position, although the final standings will depend on the performance of its competitors as well as its own results.

Consistency has been one of the Valkyrie’s defining characteristics this season. Its consecutive points finishes show that the car can regularly challenge for meaningful results, even as the team continues to pursue the pace required to compete more consistently at the front.

The Valkyrie Combines a V12 With Racing Technology

The competition version of the Aston Martin Valkyrie is developed from the road-going hypercar by Aston Martin and The Heart of Racing. Its design combines a race-optimised carbon-fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 engine.

In standard form, the powerplant produces more than 1,000 bhp and can rev to 11,000 rpm. For endurance racing, however, the car must comply with the regulations governing the WEC Hypercar class and IMSA’s GTP category. Its maximum permitted output is therefore limited to 500 kW, equivalent to approximately 671 bhp.

The Valkyrie’s carbon-fibre construction, aerodynamic package and naturally aspirated V12 form the foundation of its racing specification.

The regulatory power limit means the competition car cannot simply rely on the output of its road-going counterpart. Instead, performance depends on the overall package, including aerodynamic efficiency, chassis behaviour, tyre management and how effectively the team executes its race strategy.

Barcelona will provide a useful test of that balance. The circuit combines a fast opening sector with a slower final section, creating different demands on the car across a single lap.

Barcelona Brings a New WEC Challenge

Although Barcelona is familiar to many drivers and teams, its inclusion in the WEC schedule presents a new challenge for the Hypercar field. The circuit’s layout and traffic conditions could influence how the race develops, particularly when faster prototypes negotiate slower cars during long-distance competition.

Tincknell believes the circuit’s characteristics could suit the Valkyrie, particularly following the return of the final two corners to their original high-speed configuration. The British driver also sees the race as an opportunity to respond after Fuji, where the team showed encouraging pace but did not fully convert it into the result it wanted.

Gamble is equally optimistic. He returns to Barcelona after previously finishing on the podium there and hopes to carry the speed demonstrated in Japan into the Spanish round.

Barcelona’s mix of high-speed and low-speed sections will test the Valkyrie’s balance and the team’s ability to manage traffic.

For Riberas, the event has additional significance. The Spanish driver will contest his first home WEC race at the circuit where he grew up. He described the opportunity to compete there in a Valkyrie with Aston Martin THOR Team as a dream come true, while expressing confidence in the car’s potential after Fuji.

Sørensen, meanwhile, highlighted traffic management as a possible deciding factor. Barcelona’s relatively narrow layout could make overtaking and navigating slower traffic particularly challenging for the Hypercar field.

Aston Martin Focuses on Execution for the Final Rounds

Team principal Ian James believes recent races have demonstrated that the Valkyrie can fight near the front when conditions suit the car. He also pointed to the team’s run of points finishes as evidence that it has been able to make the most of its available performance.

The priority for Barcelona will be to execute the race cleanly, avoid mistakes and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. With only two rounds remaining, every point could influence Aston Martin’s final championship position.

Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s head of endurance motorsport, also sees reasons for confidence. He noted that the Valkyrie has performed as expected on circuits with characteristics similar to Barcelona, while acknowledging the experience and strength of the opposition.

The Spanish race will therefore offer a fresh measure of the Valkyrie’s development. Aston Martin has established a reliable points-scoring record, but a stronger finish would provide a more significant reward for the progress made throughout 2026.

With the Monza finale approaching, the objective is clear: maintain the points streak, challenge for a better result and finish the season as strongly as possible.

Mercedes will run its latest W17 upgrades on both cars as it evaluates their potential for 2027.

Mercedes intends to equip Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell with its latest W17 upgrade package at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. After evaluating the new components in Singapore, the team wants to understand how to unlock their performance more consistently and determine whether the technical concept could influence the development of the 2027 W18.

Mercedes Will Run the Latest Upgrades on Both Cars

Mercedes introduced its latest upgrade package at Sepang and initially evaluated it on Antonelli’s car during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The team compared the updated W17 with its previous specification to understand how the changes affected the car’s balance and performance.

Bradley Lord, Mercedes’ deputy team principal, confirmed the team’s intention to continue the evaluation in Austin, with both cars using the updated configuration. Preparing two different specifications in Singapore required considerable work from the mechanics, but the comparison provided useful information for the engineers.

The analysis showed that Mercedes extracted more potential from the updated package during qualifying than it consistently maintained in the race. The next step is to identify the setup conditions that allow the new components to deliver their best performance.

Mercedes will evaluate its latest W17 upgrades on both cars at the Circuit of The Americas.

Why Mercedes Needs to Improve the W17’s Balance

The main challenge is the narrow operating window of the new package. Mercedes believes the upgrades can make the W17 faster, but the car must be set up correctly to deliver those gains.

When the balance moves outside that window, the performance advantage can disappear quickly. As a result, the drivers may struggle to reproduce the same pace across qualifying and race conditions.

Antonelli showed competitive speed in Singapore, although Mercedes acknowledged that Red Bull remained particularly strong. The results offered encouraging signs, but they also demonstrated that the team still needs to understand how the updated components behave in different conditions.

Running the same specification on both cars in Austin should provide a more complete comparison. Engineers can examine the data from both drivers and determine whether the findings from Singapore remain valid at another circuit.

Mercedes Sees Potential for the 2027 W18

The upgrade package could have implications beyond the current season. Mercedes is evaluating whether the concept introduced at Sepang could provide a starting point for the W18, its 2027 Formula 1 car.

Antonelli has emphasized the importance of identifying the conditions in which the package performs best. Toto Wolff has also indicated that the concept could represent the right direction for next year, although further analysis is required before the team makes a final decision.

Russell is expected to evaluate the same upgrade specification as Antonelli in Austin.

This longer-term objective helps explain why Mercedes is continuing to investigate the package despite its initial difficulties. The data could help engineers identify which technical solutions deserve further development, even if the current configuration does not deliver consistent gains immediately.

However, the updates should not be considered a confirmed blueprint for the W18. Mercedes must first assess their effectiveness and determine whether the concept offers the best direction for its next-generation car.

Austin Will Be an Important Test for Mercedes

The United States Grand Prix will provide another opportunity to evaluate the updated W17 under different circuit conditions. The Circuit of The Americas features significant elevation changes, slower corners and faster sections that will challenge the car’s balance.

Using the same specification on both cars should help Mercedes compare the results more effectively. The engineers will be looking for evidence of consistent performance and a clearer understanding of how the upgrades respond to different setup choices.

Austin will test whether Mercedes can extract consistent performance from its latest W17 upgrades.

Mercedes has two objectives: remain competitive in the current season and collect data that can guide future development. Its ability to find a reliable setup window will determine how much performance the team can extract from the new components.

The decision to use the package on both cars demonstrates that Mercedes considers it worth further investigation. Whether the concept influences the 2027 W18 will depend on the results gathered in Austin and during the remaining races.