Franco Colapinto’s manager Jamie Campbell-Walter has asked critics to “shut up” with their opinions and insults towards the Argentine star.

Colapinto, relatively unknown with just one Formula 2 win, burst onto the Formula 1 scene at the Italian Grand Prix when he was called up by Williams to replace the underperforming Logan Sargeant.

Franco Colapinto manager: Listen carefully because I will only say it once…

He impressed on his debut, going from 18th on the grid at Monza to 12th at the finish line, gaining six positions, before scoring his first points in his second race with a P8 in Baku.

Continuing to add another point at the United States Grand Prix, Colapinto recorded two top-ten results in his first four races, one more than Sargeant managed in 36 starts.

Having become the darling of Formula 1, with Red Bull and Alpine expected to seek his services for the 2025 season, Colapinto’s brief was obliterated by crashes during the Brazilian Grand Prix where he hit the barrier not once but twice.

The 21-year-old was one of five drivers to crash during Sunday morning’s delayed qualifying before adding a second place in the Grand Prix, nose-first into the barrier as the race took place in heavy conditions. the safety car.

But while his back-to-back crashes led some to question whether he was truly up for the challenge of racing for Red Bull, it was the nights out with Argentine model and actress China Suarez that had fans on social media call Colapinto management to intervene.

Campbell-Walter of Bullet Sports Management fired back.

“Listen carefully because I will only say this once,” he wrote on X. “Stop with your opinions, stop with your insults and stop telling us how we should do our jobs.

“I’ll take care of it and I don’t need any further comments.” I was here long before any of you supported Franco and I will be here long after.

“Everyone makes mistakes and he will learn from them. Let’s focus on Vegas and the races, but to do that I need you all to shut up.

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From Formula 2 driver in early 2024 to potential Red Bull candidate for F1 2025, Colapinto has been thrust into the spotlight.

The darling of Argentinian fans who traveled to Brazil to watch him race for Williams, was warned the time would come when fans could potentially turn against him.

This comes from Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello who told the Beyond the grid Podcast: “You can see Argentina now with Colapinto. I even see that they flew to Brazil and really own it and give it a lot of support.

“Okay, so let’s look at the next step. Let’s see how the boy will behave and how the fans will behave.

“Because the media in Brazil are a bit like, ‘Oh yeah, let’s support,’ but the first time you do something bad, they put you down.

“So you have to be at peace with yourself.”

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