“Where can I park?”he asked from the driver’s seat of a blue Ford Raptor pickup truck. Although he confessed that he does not like driving on the street, Franco Colapinto He does it to reach only the Art Factoryin The Mouthminutes after the start of the ceremony of the Olympia Awardswhere he was one of the big winners of the evening. He took the silver statuette in motorsports and then shared the biggest prize, the Gold, with Emiliano Dibu Martínez. But he also got all the love from the people. He didn’t take a step without someone approaching him for a selfie, an autograph or a question. Pilar’s boy is a rockstar and exudes charisma. And he does it with extreme naturalness.
After passing through a side access gate, the pilot who once again put an Argentine in the Formula 1 After 23 years, he takes his suit out of the back seat, takes off his shirt and begins to button a white shirt when he discovers to his surprise that there are two boys, ages 5 and 7, who have been waiting for him for an hour and it doesn’t take him a second to ask them to let them in.
Kylian y Loanwho asked the parents to be here with the hope of meeting their idol because this was going to be “the only opportunity to see him” in Buenos Aires – according to what his father, Brian, told him a while before. Clarion-, walking quickly from the corner and they timidly cross the fence and approach the idol, with mom Aixa and dad Brian giving them a personal mark. Shyness, on the other hand, is not shown when they are facing an earthly Colapinto with whom they have an exchange that they will keep forever.
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Franco Colapinto chats with two little fans who wanted to meet him at the Olimpia 2024 ceremony
“Will you accompany me to the racetrack? “I want to go,” he tells them when they tell him that they usually go to watch races. “And when is mom going to let you start karting?” We’ll take you, we’ll put together a karting for you and we’ll go… I’ll be your coach. What do you think?”, he asks Loan, the 7-year-old.
Without his dad Hannibalhis mother Andrea nor his sister Martinawho accompanied him in some of the nine races he competed in this dream 2024, nor did his representatives Maria Catarineu y Jamie Campbell-Walterwho did not accompany him on his return to Argentina, the native of Pilar follows the orders of the organization, in a somewhat chaotic entry due to the attempts of journalists to approach him. “I’m all burned out”jokes about the red color that stains his cheeks and nose after a handful of days of sun and swimming pool in the country of Tortuguitas where he rented a house.
An elevator quickly takes him to the first floor, where – without going through the locker room because he chose to change on the beach like a boy who has just finished a karting race – after crossing a hallway he enters through a side door to the large living room with the ceremony started and a bottle of water in hand. The chosen row is the one they are in Franco Girolami y Julian Santerohis companions in the motorsport shortlist.
Cell phone in hand, Franco chats with them but interrupts what he is doing to applaud each of the Olympia winners. “Come on Boca”he yells at the motorcyclist Manuel Andujar when he poses with his award on stage.
In the first cut of the Public TV broadcast, a flurry of people appear on both sides, some wearing a T-shirt. Williams to autograph, and others simply to take a selfie with the driver who fell in love with the paddock and the public for his driving and his personality. However, for the second block, two security employees are placed at each end of the third central row of the auditorium to avoid siege during the live performance, although the sequence is repeated in the following pause.
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Colapinto signs autographs non-stop at the Usina del Arte
The third block is the one that delivers its prize. For this reason, behind the scenes the flashes also go off from the other three-star athletes who are waiting to find out whether or not they will win an Olympia but take advantage of having it so close. After the first ovation of the night, for the youngest winner in history Faustino Oroit is Colapinto’s turn to win his first Olimpia after losing it last year. And the show begins: from the special mate with Boca colors to making people believe Alejandra Martinezthe host of the event, that her representative was on the platform and they had to ask her about her future in English.
“Grateful to everyone here who helped me fulfill this dream. They are all part of this award and of having lived my dream. Proud of the year we had. I am happy with this whole moment and the passion we brought to the country. I hope they continue doing it whether it is in the future or not,” he said, without giving indications about what will happen in 2025.
The evening continued, but Colapinto had no time to rest. He was a full-time star in La Boca. They handed him some pieces of sushi to snack on, while fans paraded to take home a souvenir. Bridging the gap, Colapinto was for a while Messi or Maradona at the Usina del Arte. The best was missing. He returned to the stage to receive the Gold that he shared with Beto Martínez, the father of Draw.
Before speaking again, he signed a helmet, but avoided putting it on because it is not the brand he uses. He avoided the unforced error with extreme kindness and also prevented the host of the event from putting it on him. “The makeup artist is going to challenge you”he warned him. He immediately became serious. “Very happy to be here. Very grateful to the journalists who present this award. I left when I was very young and the journalists always spread the information about my career so that the Argentine people knew how I was doing. I am very grateful because they are part than what I am today,” said the new rockstar of Argentine sports, who also congratulated all the winners of the 43 shortlists.
He still had to get back to the truck. He inevitably passed through a press corral overflowing with journalistsanswered some questions with cassette rigor and he was surrounded by people who chased him until he got into the 4×4 through the passenger door, while Santero got into the back seat. With speed but pinpoint precision, he reversed and left the crowd behind.