Franco Colapinto ran only nine races in the season Formula 1 which ended on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. But in his brief time at Williams he conquered the fans – and not only the Argentines – with his outgoing personality and his freshness. So much so that the Spanish edition of GQ chose him for a special production, in which the man from Pilar wore models from luxury brands and posed for the photos that adorned the cover of GQ Hypethe digital format of that publication. During the talk with that magazine he accepted the proposal to choose the ten things he cannot live without. The main ones? The mate, the t-shirt Boca and his helmet with the light blue and white flag. And furthermore, he was encouraged to dream big.
“This is the most important part, the most essential of all: the mate”said the 21-year-old from Pilar, who still does not have a confirmed seat for the 2025 championship of the premier category.
“In Argentina we constantly drink mate among friends, with family. There is a round, we meet and the mate is passed around. Many people, few. In my case I drink alone, because I am the only one who drinks mate. Many add sugar. In my case it’s always bitter. You can’t put sugar in it. It’s prohibited,” he said while showing how to prepare that infusion that accompanies him everywhere.
“This is a special edition of the thermos, I put a lot of figurines on it, a lot of stickers to make it a little more Argentine. Here we have the map of Argentina and me pouring Quilmes beer on the podium,” he commented. “Drinking mate reminds me a little of those moments with friends and family in Argentina. It’s good to have things that make you return to those memories of your country.”
A fan of Boca and football, another of his choices was a “blue and gold” shirt. “Half plus one of Argentina, for those who don’t know it. I always have it at home, I use it a lot, like pajamas, I wear it at games because it makes me feel a little bit like I’m at home watching the game with friends “, he said.
“I have many of these shirts, too many. I have more Boca shirts than normal ones. I really like soccer, I am a sports fan and especially a boster. When I was little I played at recess, with friends. It is a sport that we grew up with in Argentina is the number 1 sport in our country. I believe that motorsports is now second, moving up little steps there,” he added.
“The helmet is our personal part, which we can choose and design. In my case, I always had the Argentine flag,” Franco Colapinto tells us in his 10 essentials. pic.twitter.com/a8f5ftXEyR
— GQ Spain (@GQSpain) December 12, 2024
And showing the one he had in his hand at that moment, he explained: “This is one of the most important. They gave it to me recently, it has my number on the back. 43 is the number with which I started racing in karting. I won my first Argentine championship with the 43, it has a lot of meaning to be able to have it in Formula 1 is something very special. It is also just one number less than that of. Lewis Hamiltonso we are close there.”
“This is the reason why you don’t see my face much on the weekends”he said while showing the helmet he used in his brief adventure in the Great Circus. “It’s what takes care of us drivers. And it’s our personal part, it’s what we can choose, design. In my case, I always had the Argentine flag. Sometimes I raise my visor. When it’s very hot in the race, I You open it a touch to let some air in because the situation is kind of claustrophobic otherwise.”
And he took advantage of that moment to share how his love for motorsports was born: “Going to the limit on a circuit is something that always fascinated me as a child. Since I was 4 years old, I had a quadricycle and I rode around the neighborhood. It’s something that was born with me, but in my family too. My old man was always a big fan of motorsports and I got into karting a little more and more and then I came to live in Europe when I was little. And we started. with this madness that was the road to Formula 1”.
Although he was only 14 years old when he went to live in Italia and today he spends the year traveling the world, Colapinto never disconnects from Argentina. Thus, empanadas slipped into their essentials. “It’s one of my favorite foods. I love it because you can eat it with family, with friends. But the roast is number one, just so you know”he said.
Only nine races have helped Franco Colapinto become the fashionable boy and the sensation of the Formula 1 paddock.https://t.co/MBQSjQUCJM
— GQ Spain (@GQSpain) December 12, 2024
“I would like to know how to cook. I recently bought a very nice, large, simple cooking book. And when I opened it, all the recipes took more than an hour, so it’s not a simple kitchen. But hey, I’m trying to improve. I cook I’ll make you chicken, rice, an egg. But not much more than that,” he confessed.
Another weakness of Franco? The alfajores. “I am very sweet, I really like sugar, which is very bad. I love alfajores. I can’t eat them all the time, and there aren’t many of them in Europe. But when I return to Argentina I bring a thousand alfajores and I keep them in the I always have one saved just in case, to satisfy your desire for something sweet every once in a while.”
In the nomadic life that he has led since he began competing in the most important categories of motorsports, the Argentine passport could not be missing among his chosen ones.
“I think I’ve already flown 105 or 106 times in the year and I lost it a few times. I always feel like I lose it and in the end I end up finding it. A couple of times I lost it and never found it again. It’s a bit of my life, I’m crazy. The only thing I don’t lose is my head, which is attached to me,” he admitted.
And he took the opportunity to “promote” Argentina: “My country surprised me a lot when I had the opportunity to travel. In Argentina you have a little bit of everything. In the south you have the Patagoniathe glaciers, the cold, impressive landscapes. You are going to Missions and you have the cataracts. And in the north you have something completely different. A different culture. It’s something I really enjoyed and I would love to go back and learn a little more.”
The list was completed by his bicycle, with which he trains and tours places near Madrid to disconnect; his favorite perfume -“I like being perfumed, it gives you a little more confidence,” he said-; an eye mask, essential for sleeping on trips; his headphones, which help him isolate himself to concentrate before races and relax listening to music -“I listen to a lot Bizarrap. He is very talented in what he does, he is number 1. And he helped me a lot to get to where I am today,” he said -; and açai, that Brazilian fruit that he consumes “practically every day.”
In addition to joining that game to build his list, Colapinto shared his entire story, which Argentines already know almost by heart at this point, and revealed some details of his arrival in F1. He said that after the first races in the premier class, Williams sent him to do media training because he “always” says what he thinks and what he feels, but he has to be “also politically correct.” That Fernando Alonso He welcomed him with open arms and told him: “Whatever you need, let me know, don’t worry.” And that on the trip that took him to the premier category there were moments when he thought he was going to have to return to Argentina, because he did not have “the budget to continue competing all year.”
And when they asked him what his new dream was, after fulfilling that of reaching the maximum, he did not hesitate: “Being a champion. I’m not very conformist, you see? And when you reach a dream or a goal that you had, the next one comes very fast. So first you have to continue in Formula 1 and then continue fighting for that other dream.”