The next Formula 1 event will be the closest to his country for the Williams driver. A crowd is expected to accompany the young pilot, while rumors of his future are heard.
SAINT PAUL (SPECIAL ENVOY) Colapintomania will have a strong epicenter next weekend: Brazil. Formula 1 will arrive in South America with an Argentine on the grid for the first time in 23 years, since Gastón Mazzacane raced the 2001 Brazilian GP with a Prost Acer. The furor caused by the unexpected, due to the times, and surprising, due to the results, Franco Colapinto is total. For this reason, thousands of Argentines are expected in the Interlagos stands during the San Pablo GP, date 21 of the 2024 season. That is why it was not surprising that on Tuesday morning Williams t-shirts and caps were seen walking through the Aeroparque de la City of Buenos Aires. Yes, three days before the start of the activity. And there is a reason: this Wednesday there will be a national transportation strike, which includes air traffic, and the airlines were unable to reschedule flights. Many were lucky and had to anticipate the trip. Others will arrive around the hour. For some, with tickets in hand, they were offered the possibility of traveling only on the Monday after the race.
For the first time, F1 will race in Brazil with an Argentine as the only South American on the track. EPA
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The first advance of Colapinto fans met this Tuesday with a cool day in San Pablo, something strange, by the way. Cloudy and even with a thin cloud when night fell. Perhaps the omen of a forecast that announces rain for Saturday (sprint and classification day) and Sunday, the day with the most amount of water according to estimates.
In San Pablo everything is big. The spaces, the buildings, the avenues, the bridges, the traffic… The latter is a headache. After two hours of flight you have to prepare for an hour and coins of taxi travel, which can become an odyssey if the driver thinks he has reminiscences of Ayrton Senna and, to make matters worse, he showed signs of having slept badly, as happened with a group of envoys. Maybe there is the answer to the two Cabezón Ruggeri-style headbutts that he made on the trip and that he almost ended up with his Chevrolet against the wall on a highway.
On the way, there is no Formula 1 atmosphere. No billboards announcing the competition, nor images that give a signal. Of course, San Pablo is so big that there are people who live here who have probably never set foot on the racetrack or the area in which it is located. One fact: you don’t see soccer jerseys on people either, in a soccer country. In Argentina it is common to come across people dressed in their beloved colors. For Saint Paul, nothing. Neither from Corinthinas, nor from Palmeiras nor from San Pablo. Nothing. Everyone in their world.
From F1, nothing. So nothing, at least for now, that not even the drivers and team members are there. The strongest heat will be on Thursday, when attention to the press and events begins. Although there is one important fact: Brazilians are fans of Brazilians. Nothing else. And there are precisely no locals on the grill. It will be the fifth edition in a row of the São Paulo competition, called the São Paulo GP since 2021, without a representative from Brazil. Felipe Massa, in 2017, was the last. And one more fact: it will be the first time that F1 races on Brazilian soil with an Argentinian as the only South American on the track.
Colapinto fans promise a big flag for Saturday and a lot of color and heat in the stands. Perhaps that is one of the points that most interests F1 as a business: an extroverted driver who generates interactions never seen before. Perhaps that is why there are many who hope to see Franco on the grid in 2025. There are a thousand rumors. The strongest of the last hours suggests that Red Bull will terminate Checo Pérez’s contract (something to be expected due to his weak performance) and would pay a clause (20 million dollars?) to Williams to seat him in a Racing Bulls in 2025. Surely, as the days go by, that loud noise that sounds from Europe will reach San Pablo here with a little more clarity. But, for now, excluding the Argentine advance party that traveled in a hurry, the weather is very calm. In a few more days, Colapintomania will give him effervescence.
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