The story behind the viral, awkward encounter between Pedro Acosta and Franco Colapinto

A video of Colapinto and Acosta at Barcelona went viral on social media and was interpretated very differently by fans

MotoGP star Pedro Acosta has explained the story behind the viral encounter with Franco Colapinto in the Barcelona Formula 1 paddock, revealing it was sparked by a lost bet.

F1 paddocks often produce unusual moments each race weekend, but few generated as much attention on social media during the Spanish Grand Prix as the brief encounter between Acosta and Colapinto.

The moment, captured on camera at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, showed the KTM rider approaching the Argentine while he was signing a shirt. Colapinto, riding his scooter and heading towards Alpine’s hospitality area, barely reacted at first, leading many fans to speculate that he had not recognised Acosta – or had mistaken him for just another fan.

The clip quickly went viral, particularly among MotoGP and F1 audiences.

Now, speaking during media day at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno, Acosta has revealed what actually happened.

“To tell you the truth, the thing with Franco Colapinto came from a bet that I lost early in the morning,” Acosta told DAZN Spain, laughing. “So I went over to find him and had to say something stupid.”

The Spaniard explained that he approached Colapinto simply to complete the challenge.

“So I said to him: ‘Mate, great that you came’,” he continued. “And I think he was signing a shirt and didn’t really connect what was going on.”

That initial reaction was exactly what triggered all kinds of comments online. However, Acosta said the interaction ended in a much more natural way than the video suggested.

“Then he said: ‘Ah, man. The Shark, The Shark,’” Acosta added with a laugh, referring to his own nickname.

Acosta and Piastri

During the conversation, Acosta also spoke about the person he has the closest relationship with in F1: Oscar Piastri.

The 22-year-old explained that the two met some time ago at a commercial event through a shared partner and that the Australian left a strong impression on him.

“We did an event together some time ago through a sponsor we have in common, and what surprised me about Oscar Piastri is that, socially, he’s on a completely different level to us, but he’s very normal,” he said.

Acosta particularly highlighted the welcome he received both from the Australian and the entire McLaren team.

“At first it’s always difficult, honestly, but he has always treated me really well,” he insisted. “McLaren and Oscar treated me very well in Formula 1.”