Organizers and Alpine estimated about 600,000 people turned out for Franco Colapinto’s road show in Buenos Aires, reviving calls for Argentina to return to the Formula One calendar for the first time since 1998. Branded as the Mercado Libre “Franco Colapinto Road Show Buenos Aires 2026,” the demonstration ran along a temporary, roughly 2 km street circuit on Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Sarmiento in Palermo. Organizers and local stakeholders called the turnout a clear signal that Argentina is ready to host a Grand Prix again.

The 22-year-old made two show runs in a 2012 Lotus E20 painted in Alpine livery and also drove a replica Mercedes W196 once piloted by Juan Manuel Fangio. He greeted supporters at multiple points along the route, performed donuts and posed beside displayed historic and V8-era cars. The event featured fan zones, live music and an Argentine Air Force fly-by.

Colapinto debuted with Williams in mid-2024, completed nine races for that team and later moved to Alpine. He is in his first full season with Alpine and scored his first points for the team at the Chinese Grand Prix. He is the second Argentine to race in F1 this century after Gaston Mazzacane. The mass turnout intensified interest from venues such as the Oscar y Juan Gálvez Autódromo, which has expressed ambitions to host F1 and is due to host MotoGP. Organizers said the turnout, dubbed the “Colapinto effect,” could provide the promotional momentum to influence decisions about reinstating the Argentine Grand Prix. Alpine issued a statement and staged the on-street spectacle, and the team sat fifth in the early Constructors’ standings as F1 prepared for the Miami Grand Prix.