The evocative sound of Formula One returned to Argentina on Sunday 26 April when Franco Colapinto, the boy from Buenos Aires, made history in bringing the sport back to his home nation with an electrifying show run in front of an unprecedented crowd, estimated to be 600,000.

As part of the Mercado Libre presents: Franco Colapinto Road Show Buenos Aires 2026! the hundreds of thousands of passionate supporters gathered in the shadow of Monumento de los Españoles, where Franco, in the 2012 E20 Formula One car, powered by its deafening historic engine, put on quite the show.

While the strong support and passion of Argentina were close to outdoing the noise of the E20, Franco’s driving and skill at the wheel lived up to expectation around Del Libertador, where he performed a number of high-speed runs on the 2km course, including burnouts, donuts and the occasional wave to some lucky fans as he continues to inspire a generation of Argentinian Formula One fans.

During the historic moment, Franco was able to enjoy his dream driving at home and became the first Argentinian to drive a Formula One car on the streets of Buenos Aires.

Born in Pilar, in the north of the city, the dedicated Argentinian has travelled worldwide, all for his racing career. From karting in Spain to racing single-seaters in New Zealand, Franco has taken every opportunity on the road to his racing dream of competing in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Every inch of space around the course was covered as fans lined the barriers for the whole event. Alongside the Formula One car on-track, they were also treated to a stage appearance from Franco as well as entertainment from musical acts before the main event began.

Fans also were treated to a special run in a replica Mercedes-Benz W196, an equivalent of what Juan Manuel Fangio drove in the 1950s. The five-time Formula One World Champion is a national hero and seeing an Argentinian behind the wheel of his historic machine marked the special event.

Franco Colapinto:

“Wow, what an amazing feeling to be able to drive at home and especially to enjoy the day with so many fans! It’s such a special moment for me to be able to drive a Formula One car on the Buenos Aires streets, truly one of the best days of my life. The love of the fans has been so amazing – this whole event is for them, and I hope they all feel as incredible as I do. I want to give a special thank you to all of them for coming, and as well to the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, Mercado Libre, all the partners that supported this event and my friends and teammates at BWT Alpine Formula One Team for helping put the Road Show together. Now we head to Miami to go racing once again. Let’s go!”