Alpine's New F1 Star Pleads Fans For 'Respect' After Yuki Tsunoda Hate

Alpine Formula 1 driver Franco Colapinto has taken a strong stance against some of his fans who have shared hateful messages against Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda after an on-track incident in Imola on Friday.

The Argentinian driver, who came off social media himself ahead of his F1 return this week, acknowledged that some of the Argentinian fans are "extremely passionate" but urged them to always be respectful towards others.

During Practice 1 at the iconic Imola circuit, Colapinto accidentally blocked the Japanese driver, which Tsunoda was clearly unhappy about. However, it was Tsunoda who came under fire from fans on social media.

Commenting on the hate that Tsunoda received, Colapinto explained to the media:

"I blocked him yesterday - he was right.

"I blocked quite a few people yesterday, just the first day with the car, with the team, it's always a bit of miscommunication and a bit tricky. And yeah, I blocked him.

"He probably was a bit upset. He's right to be upset, it's fine. I don't know what the Argentinians did?"

When he was told about the online response, Colapinto added:

"I know they are extremely passionate, and they are always very harsh on people. They have to give respect, and that's what we all want.

"There is a lot of hate on social media ... so of course we always try and want, for all the drivers, to keep it respectful and keep it calm there."

The Argentinian driver made his F1 debut last year when he took Logan Sargeant's seat at Williams for the latter part of the season. After impressing during his stint with the Grove outfit, he later signed with Alpine as a reserve and test driver for 2025.

Alpine confirmed after the Miami Grand Prix that Colapinto would take Jack Doohan's spot at the team for at least the next five races.

At the time of Colapinto signing with the French team in the reserve driver role, Doohan began to be the victim of more online hate. Colapinto's manager, Jamie Campbell-Walter, spoke out against this at the time, posting:

"The haters who think they help Franco. You are doing him more harm than good. Insults to the team, to Jack and sometimes to other supporters of Alpine. Franco and all of us who support him are fans of the whole team, Pierre and Jack. Conduct yourselves with passion but not abuse and arrogance. Franco's time will come but not like this, you will achieve the opposite."