Argentine driver Franco Colapinto experienced an incident that altered his work schedule during a test with the Alpine Formula 1 car (2023 season) at the Monza circuit this past Sunday.

Colapinto shared the test session with Estonian driver Paul Aron. Despite posting faster lap times than his teammate, the Argentine driver was involved in an incident during the TPC (Test Previous Car) session. In one of the "S" curves of the Italian track, he locked up the brakes, veered off into the gravel, and damaged the car’s floor completely disrupting the scheduled test program.

Controversy Over Comments About Uruguay

The young Argentine motorsport prospect continues to be under close scrutiny both on and off the track. In recent days, he sparked controversy with comments related to Uruguay.

The controversy arose during a conversation in which he was asked about the origin of mate. As is often the case between Uruguayans and Argentines, disputes over the origin of mate, dulce de leche, and even the legacy of Carlos Gardel are common. In response, the Alpine star offered an off-the-cuff theory that was poorly received in the neighboring country.

“Let me explain something. There are very few Uruguayans, I don’t really know the population. three million? So, Uruguay is like an Argentine province, they’re like part of Argentina… Here’s Cavani,” he said, pointing to an image of the Uruguayan striker on a thermos. “Cavani playing for Boquita, the guy is already Argentine, speaks like an Argentine, he’s fully Argentine.”

Public Apology Via Social Media

Days later, he took to his social media, specifically X, to clarify his comments and apologize: “Hey, I wanted to apologize as soon as possible for the dumb thing I said about Uruguay, it was obviously meant as a joke. It was a fun podcast among friends,” explained Franco Colapinto.

He added, “Sometimes I struggle to grasp how far the nonsense I say can go. I didn’t mean to offend anyone; they were teasing me about milanesas, mate, empanadas, and I joined in on the banter.”