Rising F1 star Franco Colapinto has already been compared to Messi, but will the hype last?

Fame in Argentina is a unique cultural phenomenon, especially for the country's professional athletes. In a country where sports are debated as passionately as politics and world affairs, you are more likely to polarize than to be universally admired.

That's why the story of rising Formula 1 star Franco Colapinto is unique.

The 21-year-old Argentine replaced Williams' American driver Logan Sargeant in August. Since then, Colapinto has experienced a constant whirlwind as one of F1's most popular newcomers. His best result was eighth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September. He became the first South American in F1 history to finish in the top 12 in his first three races.

But even a casual Formula 1 observer knows that Colapinto is still miles away from breaking into his aristocracy.

In Argentina that doesn't matter. Colapinto raises the Argentine flag in one of the most visible arenas in world sport. He captivated the nation in just a few months. His youthful personality and his approachability as a sought-after public figure have endeared him to his compatriots, who do not always appreciate their idols.

Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are both kings of Argentine football, but took completely different paths to becoming king. Maradona was a diamond in the rough, unearthed in the humble Villa Fiorito neighborhood of Buenos Aires. A people's champion from a young age, Maradona went from phenomenon to deity in Argentina after leading his national team to glory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Maradona led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title. (Archivo El Grafico, Getty Images)

Messi, meanwhile, was discovered on the clay courts of Rosario, 300km from the capital Buenos Aires, as a teenager with local club Newell's Old Boys. He was quickly discovered by an agent who connected Messi's family with decision-makers at leading Spanish club Barcelona. At the age of 13, Messi moved from Rosario to Europe, etching his own story into the annals of world football along the way.

Like Colapinto, who left Argentina at the age of 14 to pursue racing in Italy, Messi's formative years took place thousands of miles from his homeland. Despite Messi's unworldly talent, he had a distant relationship with the Argentine public. He became an outcast and labeled a foreigner after losing four major finals with the national team. The press was Messi's biggest nemesis. He was ostracized before he was idolized.

Today, Messi is revered as a resilient legend after leading Argentina to a World Cup title two years ago and Copa America trophies in 2021 and 2024. His transformation is now a case study in how Argentines measure sporting success. It's not a cautionary tale for Colapinto, however.

In a soccer-mad country like Argentina (and throughout South America), Formula 1 is a niche sport. It's luxurious and virtually unattainable – the cultural opposite of football.

Colapinto's rise also coincided with one of the greatest moments for Argentine football. Messi and his teammates, previously vilified as underperformers, have reached new levels of celebrity. They are darlings of social media and pop culture. Once an easy target for criticism, national players are now routinely celebrated and defended by the press. Their success united the country and alleviated a notoriously toxic media environment.

(Peter Fox, Getty Images)

The timing was ideal for Colapinto. The Argentine press has already described him as a genius and a generational talent – praise that in his homeland was reserved for Maradona, Messi, former tennis star Gabriela Sabatini and NBA legend Emanuel Ginobili. Experts have boldly said that Colapinto is the next Ayrton Senna.

The late Senna, an F1 icon, rightly stands alongside Brazil's greatest footballers, including Pelé, Zico and Ronaldo. In contrast, the hype surrounding Colapinto has intensified to the point that he is being compared to Messi in some media circles.

“I don’t think I’m even close to Leo Messi,” Colapinto recently told the Fast and the Curious podcast. “He's on another level and I can't believe people compare me to Leo. I'm like, 'What's wrong with you?'”

Diario Olé columnist Diego Macias described Colapinto as “the ideal combination.”

“He has a special charisma, he's funny and relaxed, and he could teach more than a few people lessons about charisma and empathy. He has no ceiling,” Macias wrote.

It is definitely a marketer’s dream. Colapinto is a social media influencer who quickly has over 3 million followers on Instagram. The trail of paparazzi that follows him around the world also seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Of course Colapinto is a football fan. He recently announced that he is supporting the Buenos Aires club Boca Juniors.

At the Italian Grand Prix in September, Colapinto's F1 debut, throngs of fans waved Boca and Argentina jerseys flocked to his support. Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters on race day that he saw Colapinto competing on a split screen in Monza alongside an English Premier League game.

Swept up by the excitement, Scaloni said it was “very strange” to have been distracted by anything other than football.

“It's exciting for the Argentines to have a driver and for him to have done it the way he did: the crowd at Monza with the flags, the fans going wild… I congratulate him.” “We are “Proud to have a Formula 1 driver in the top class,” said Scaloni.

Although he would prefer not to name which people have reached out to him, Colapinto said he has spoken to several current Argentina internationals about his current success. “It's very important for the country and they're just enjoying the moment and yeah, it's great,” he said.

For Colapinto, it was a steady climb towards the mainstream.

Not a day goes by when he isn't part of Argentina's daily sports coverage. He has signed sponsorship deals with Argentina-based companies such as YPF, an oil and gas company that also sponsors the national soccer team. Argentine DJ and producer Bizarrap joined software company Globant and e-commerce company Mercado Libre to give Colapinto the financial support he needed to compete in Formula 1.

Colapinto is innocently brash. He is good-looking, media-friendly and has shown courage on the track. This is the ideal combination in today's sports landscape, where athletes are their brand. Ahead of last weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, Colapinto appeared in a humorous, race-inspired advertisement for Mercado Libre. He also graced the cover of Forbes magazine's Mexico edition on the eve of the race.

“Formula 1 now realizes how much it misses these Latino and Argentine fans because they were extremely crazy,” Colapinto told reporters before the race in Mexico City. “In just a few races they've gone crazy and the support they have is something I honestly haven't seen from any other driver. “It's special and unique.”

Even if he does not yet have a guaranteed Formula 1 place for the 2025 season, he is just as popular in Argentina as Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. In Latin America, Colapinto is the bearer of the region's rich F1 history alongside Mexican driver Sergio “Checo” Perez.

“Many of us believed in the past that it was impossible for an Argentine driver to get into Formula 1,” said Colapinto. “It’s great to see so many Latinos together. You can see that in other sports there have been some fights between the Brazilians and the Mexicans and Argentinians, but now in Formula 1, in motorsport, it looks like everyone is together and supporting me, like the Brazilians, the Mexicans and the Argentinians.”

In Argentina, almost everything related to the Colapinto furor has gone viral on social media. After he finished 12th in Mexico (ahead of Perez and Fernando Alonso), cameras filmed the Ferrari pits and observed the media and fan frenzy that now follows him on F1 Sundays.

“I love you, Franco!” a woman shouted. Diario Olé's caption to a photo of the scene read: “The Ferrari team tries to understand the madness surrounding Colapinto.”

Last week, a popular restaurant in Buenos Aires added Colapinto to its menu. El Antojo (The Desire) is known for modeling its milanesa, a breaded beef cutlet that is Argentina's unofficial national dish, after famous celebrities. Messi and his Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez, as well as former national team winger Angel Di Maria, were previously honored in breadcrumbs.

Colapinto hasn't returned home since he went from unknown amateur to cult hero in Argentina. When asked how he is adjusting to his new life as a megastar, he replied in typically humble words.

“It was a lot and luckily I haven't been to Argentina yet so I don't know what it's like down there but from what I've heard it's a bit crazy,” he said. “I love the support I get.”

Colapinto has yet to win anything in a sport characterized by pole positions, top speeds and eternal championships. His future in Formula 1 is also uncertain as he is not guaranteed a role at Williams next season. Still, Colapinto is enjoying a wave of attention in Argentina that comes with Messi's acclaim.

Argentina has the best national football team in the world, which has led to the press continually praising its recent successes. From a sporting perspective, it's better than ever.

Will Colapinto continue to benefit from this new praise or will his star rise based on consistent athletic performance? One thing is certain: Argentina's hunger for more trophies is matched only by its passion for sporting prestige.

Luke Smith contributed to this story.

(Top photo: Joe Portlock / Getty Images)