Franco Colapinto: from cockpit to Digital Superstar in F1

Born in Pilar, a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, Franco Colapinto, 21, appears to be the newest darling of the Formula 1 circuit. At least, that’s the impression when analyzing his digital performance.

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Uma publicação compartilhada por Franco Colapinto (@francolapinto)

Since his official debut in the Williams cockpit at the prestigious Monza Grand Prix in Italy on August 30 (practice session day), Franco Colapinto’s follower base has skyrocketed from 1.45 million to 4.16 million by the end of November.

Comparatively, Franco Colapinto’s digital growth surpasses the top drivers of the 2024 season.

With a growth of 2.7 million new followers between September and now, late November, the Argentine boasts a follower increase 3.6 times greater than Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who was previously the standout digital figure of the season.

Part of this success stems from Franco’s authentic approach to the process. In the post below, for example, alongside Lewis Hamilton, his caption reads: “A lot can happen in a year,” referring to his unexpected arrival in Formula 1 mid-season—something perhaps unimaginable when Williams began the season with Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant.

At that point, Franco wasn’t even a reserve driver among the ten teams filling the F1 grid in 2024.

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Uma publicação compartilhada por Franco Colapinto (@francolapinto)

The post, in itself, ranks as the second most engaging among all of Franco’s posts since he took over the Williams cockpit.

Engagement That Surpasses Four-Time Champion Max Verstappen

The growing follower base naturally translates into better overall engagement performance. As shown in the chart below, Franco Colapinto surpassed the 1 million engagement mark on Instagram five times between September and the end of November.

In the digital Grand Prix, with only seven races under his belt, Franco Colapinto secures a spot on the second row of the starting grid for Instagram interactions.

Ranking 3rd, the Argentine accumulated 20.6 million interactions on his account between September 1, the day of his debut, and November 25, the date of this study.

The front row of digital relevance in this period belongs to Charles Leclerc and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Williams’ Digital Performance Soars with Colapinto’s Arrival

The digital phenomenon known as Franco Colapinto has had a direct impact on Williams. And it wasn’t just financially, as “Mercado Livre,” a leading Argentine tech company offering e-commerce and financial services, partnered with the British team.

On Instagram, Williams’ performance before the Argentine driver’s arrival tells a compelling story. Over the 15 GPs prior to his debut, the team accumulated 31.3 million interactions—39.8% of their total interactions from January 1 to August 25.

Since then, in just three months, Williams has amassed 47 million interactions, demonstrating the transformative effect of Colapinto’s presence.