Franco Colapinto Left Stunned by F1 Questions from Lionel Messi

F1 News: Franco Colapinto has revealed his shock at being asked a series of questions about F1 by none other than Lionel Messi during a recent meeting. Following the April F1 break, Colapinto performed a demonstration for Alpine in Buenos Aires before heading to Miami for the fourth round of the season, where he met the eight-time Ballon D'Or winner.

The pair chatted casually with fellow Inter Miami player Rodrigo de Paul, and Colapinto explained how the FIFA World Cup winner left him stunned. 'It was something I had always dreamed of, and having the chance to meet him and get his time was very special,' Colapinto told media including RacingNews365.

Messi proved to be quite knowledgeable, surprising Colapinto with a range of questions, particularly about the roadshow. 'He loves sports, and also loves Argentine athletes and people who represent Argentina, so this was a very unique moment,' added Colapinto. 'If you ask anyone in Argentina who they would like to meet, it would be Lionel, and I had that chance without cameras and marketing, just meeting him and Rodrigo.'

Initially, Colapinto was unsure if Messi would attend the race due to Inter Miami's match against Orlando City – which ended in a 3-4 defeat – but the former Cristiano Ronaldo rival did turn up as a guest of Mercedes at the grand prix. There, Messi met George Russell and race winner Kimi Antonelli, and greeted Colapinto.

Messi witnessed one of Colapinto's strongest F1 performances, where he qualified in the top 10 for both the Sprint and the main grand prix, finishing 10th in the Sprint. In the grand prix, Colapinto finished eighth – matching his career-best result from the 2024 Azerbaijan GP – before a 20-second time penalty for Charles Leclerc promoted Alpine to seventh place. This result marked the best finish for an Argentine driver since Carlos Reutemann took second place at the 1982 South African GP, which was 795 world championship F1 races ago.