Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz celebrate Spain's World Cup win as Franco Colapinto slams Spanish fans' celebrations

Spanish drivers celebrate World Cup win

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, both Spanish Formula 1 drivers, spoke to media ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix about Spain's 2026 World Cup final victory over Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Alonso, a two-time F1 champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, said he enjoyed the match and expressed pride in Spain's football achievements.

Spain had a great tournament and not just this one; I think all Spaniards are very proud of a national team that has won three European Championships and two World Cups in the last 20 years, and in the women's category we are world champions.

Alonso also recalled the emotional moment of hearing the Spanish national anthem on the podium after his own race wins, calling it the most emotional moment of his career. He added that Spain is "incredibly fortunate" to have so many top athletes across disciplines, saying for a relatively small country it cannot be luck.

Sainz, who drives for Williams, echoed the sentiment, asserting that Spain deserved the title because they played the best football throughout the tournament.

I always had the feeling that Spain was going to win because of how they had played during the whole championship, and I'm very happy they did it, they deserved it.

Colapinto criticises Spanish fans

Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, who shares the F1 grid with the two Spaniards, acknowledged Spain as the "clear winner" but did not hold back on his criticism of Spanish supporters. In an interview with ESPN, the Alpine driver said many fans only show their colours after victories.

Suddenly, they put on the shirt when they win, not before. It's a disgrace. They don't even have songs to sing, they were boring.

During the joint press conference with Alonso and Sainz at the Hungaroring, Colapinto repeated his call for more creativity.

They are fair winners, but I hope they improve the songs a little. They need to be more creative, they were boring.

Messi shirt burning and a call for calm

Colapinto also addressed the tensions that flared between Spanish and Argentine fans after the final. He condemned the act of burning a Lionel Messi shirt, which he said some people had attempted.

It's not nice to burn Messi shirts.

The driver urged both sides to lower the temperature, noting that the two countries share Latin roots.

We are Latin countries and that's great, but there are also differences that seem to create enemies. Messi played at Barça and gave happy moments, but now it seems like a war between countries and that's not nice.

The exchange took place during the pre-race press conference on Friday at the Hungaroring circuit near Budapest, where the Hungarian Grand Prix is set to run this weekend. Spain's victory in the final secured their second men's World Cup title, adding to their 2010 triumph and stitching a second star onto the national team's jersey.