Who was the last Argentine to race in Formula 1 and how did he do it?

Franco Colapinto will conduct the first free practice of the British Grand Prix and Argentina is excited to once again have a representative in motorsport’s most important championship. I know who the last one is.

The Argentinian Franco Colapintowho just finished second in the Austrian Formula 2 Grand Prix, You will have a chance to drive a Formula 1 car in the first free practice at the next GP, the British GP. Although it is still very early, the good performance of the Williams driver gives hope that in the near future the country will once again be represented in the most important motorsport championship in the world. The last one is Gastón Mazzacanein 2001, but there was an unexpected exit due to the strength of the Brazilian economy.

Rayo is the new hire of the Minardi team for the 2000 season After an irregular season there, the owners decided to bet on a young Fernando Alonso, almost 17 years old. But the following year he had the opportunity to have a seat in F1 again, in this case representing the Prost Acer team, owned by the legendary Alain. His year began with a retirement in Australia, followed by a 12th place finish in Malaysia and two retirements in Brazil and San Marino, respectively.

Although it was not a good start, his sudden departure from the team was not due to his performance on the court. He was left out of his place before the Imola Grand Prix and He was replaced by Brazilian Luciano Burti, which originated from Jaguar. The reason? It was promoted by Panamerican Sports News itself -sign sponsoring the team- and his compatriot from São Paulo Pedro Diniz, former F1 driver and owner of 40 percent of the team’s shares..

total, Mazzacane raced 21 grand prix: 17 in Minardi and four in Prost. He completed 12 and left the other 9. His best result was eighth place at the Nürburgring in 2000.although at the time those who finished in that position did not add points.

From that moment, The Argentine closest is José María Pechito LópezWHO It was part of the Renault F1 development program between 2005 and 2006., doing thousands of kilometers with the same cars in which Fernando Alonso became world champion in those days. He did not have a place in the team due to political reasons because the Brazilian president of Rombo’s house preferred to give his compatriot Nelson Piquet Jr. a place.

Three years later, he was confirmed as one of the drivers of the new US F1 Team, led by American journalist Peter Windsor. They had the support of the Argentine Government, which was willing to put up two of the eight million the team demanded. However, the native of Río Tercero received bad news: The team could not compete in the top category because the assembly times of the cars were delayed. This is how the possibility of seeing an Argentine in Formula 1 again disappeared.

Now the spotlight is on Colapinto. That’s right. The 21-year-old driver is having a good season in Formula 2. He is fifth in the drivers’ table, coming off two consecutive second places -in Spain and Austria- and of win the sprint race at Imola. He is highly respected by Williams, and what happens next Friday is a clear sign of that.

This is not the first time he has driven in a Formula 1 car.because he did it last year in Abu Dhabi, when he drove the FW45 at the Yas Marina circuit, to get the Super License required by the FIA.

Although it is premature to evaluate the possibility of seeing Colapinto as a starting driver in a Formula 1 team, if he continues at this level his chances will increase. It could also do a second season in the second category, to continue establishing itself for the future.

His possible promotion is not only a reward for his performance on the tracks, but it is also a reward for Argentina, which has given so much F1 to a driver as Juan Manuel Fangio, five-time champion of the competition and considered one of the best in history. In addition, other glories of Argentine motorsport passed there, such as José Fróilán González, Oscar Galvez either Carlos Reutemann.