Williams F1 rookie Franco Colapinto laughs off ‘crazy’ Messi comparisons
Al Jazeera
Highly touted rookie Franco Colapinto of Argentina makes his debut at Monza this weekend amid comparisons he is the ‘Messi of F1’.
Rookie Franco Colapinto brushed off talk of him being Formula One’s Lionel Messi as he prepares for his debut at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old will become the first Argentinian driver to compete in F1 in more than 20 years this weekend in Monza after replacing struggling Logan Sargeant for Williams.
His appointment delighted fans of the sport back home, but asked whether he felt like football icon Messi before the last World Cup, Colapinto said such talk was “crazy”.
“It’s very difficult to feel as Lionel Messi, I don’t know how it is to feel that,” Colapinto told reporters on Thursday.
“But sometimes, I see that they compare me and I’m like, ‘You guys are crazy. Like Messi is God; it’s like you cannot, how are you comparing me?'”
