Franco Colapinto’s unbelievable impact on Formula 1 TV ratings in Argentina since Williams debut

Follow us on Google Discover

Franco Colapinto has recently become the first Argentine F1 driver since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001. He replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams at the Italian Grand Prix and will race for the team until the end of the season.

In total, 22 drivers have started an F1 race under the Argentine flag, most notably Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio won five world championships during the championship’s early years, a tally only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (both seven) have bettered since.

In terms of overall appearances, Carlos Reutemann leads the way. Reutemann entered 146 races between 1972 and 1982, winning 12 of them.

Only Stirling Moss (16) and David Coulthard (13) have won more Grands Prix without taking a championship. The Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus and Williams man also stood on the podium 45 times.

But aside from that duo, and perhaps two-time race-winner Jose-Froilan Gonzalez, few Argentine drivers have made a lasting impression. Colapinto is hoping to become his country’s next motorsport hero.

He already knows he won’t be racing for Williams next year after they agreed a deal to sign Carlos Sainz. There’s still a seat open at Sauber, while Red Bull are also admirers of Colapinto as a decision looms over the RB line-up.

Franco Colapinto drives enormous surge in F1 viewership in Argentina

According to sport.de, 600,000 Argentines watched the Singapore Grand Prix on FOX. The ‘usual’ figure is 150,000, and Colapinto has clearly driven this fourfold surge.

Even though the races typically start in the morning, authorities have organised public viewings to watch Colapinto in action. He’s expected to draw plenty of supporters in the coming races.

The next four events – the US GP, Mexico City GP, Brazilian GP and Las Vegas GP – all take place in the Americas. Of those, Sao Paulo is of course the closest, and the arrival of Colapinto has helped the race sell out.

His supporters have seen him collect four points already and narrowly miss out on another in Singapore after a prolonged battle with Sergio Perez. He’s exceeded all expectations both inside and outside his team.

What Lewis Hamilton has said about Franco Colapinto

Colapinto will give James Vowles a headache if he beats Alex Albon by the end of the season. That’s a feasible scenario given that he qualified within seven thousandths of the Thai driver at Marina Bay in just his third race.

Albon has recently signed a new multi-year contract with the team to guarantee a seat, but Vowles could find himself in a situation where his would-be reserve driver has proven himself to be faster. He’s impressively confident in interviews but this would be a uniquely awkward issue to address.

Colapinto is in Albon’s ‘head’, the youngster’s old F2 boss says, and a radio message in Singapore proves it. The former Red Bull driver complained about a supposed ‘divebomb’ when his new teammate executed a brave lunge down the inside at turn one.

Hamilton had a ‘great fight’ with Colapinto in Azerbaijan a week earlier and says ‘it’s amazing to see’ his emergence. He’ll hope to share the track with the Briton long-term, but his future is uncertain.