Colapinto's sponsors are exploiting the theme of his return

      Alpine F1 only officially confirmed yesterday that Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Duane at the Imola stage, but it seems that the sponsors of the Argentine racer knew about it and were preparing in advance.

      How else to explain that a high-quality commercial starring Franco has already been shot in his homeland of Argentina by order of Mercado Libre Bank, and its rotation has already begun.

      In a short clip lasting just over a minute, we see a courier from this bank calling at the door of the Colapinto house in the morning, who is tasked with delivering a rather bulky parcel.

      A slightly sleepy Franco opens in a housecoat with a calabash in his hand, which is the name of a special vessel for making mate, a traditional herbal drink popular in Latin American countries.

      The courier, recognizing the rider, hands over the parcel, makes a characteristic gesture with his hands, as if turning the steering wheel, and asks: "Are you going to the race, yes?"

      "Yes, I'm going to," Colapinto replies with a smile and, taking the parcel, wants to close the door. But the courier stops him and asks him to show the confirmation code. Franco reluctantly takes out his phone and shows the messenger the word Suplente, which appears on the display.

      This word can be translated as "replacement".

      The courier repeats it out loud twice with rather funny intonations, while Franco opens the box and takes out a racing helmet. Then he puts it on, lowers the visor and says to the astonished courier: "See you in Imola!"

      The video ends with a scene of Colapinto driving an Alpine car down the pit lane of the autodrome, while behind the scenes the recognizable energetic chords of the old hit Jump by the American band Van Halen, which topped the charts more than 40 years ago, sound.

      In the last frames, the caption appears in Spanish: "Come back, Franco, we're all coming back."

      Next weekend we will find out what the return of the Argentine racer, who turns 21 on May 27, will be like.