The program will include comprehensive preparation with professional physical training and advanced simulation, replicating methodologies used in the world's leading teams.
Colapinto effect: Argentina returns to European motorsport with the ACA
The entity relaunches a training plan in Italian Formula 4, with state and YPF support, inspired by the path that led Reutemann to Formula 1
The program will include comprehensive preparation with professional physical training and advanced simulation, replicating methodologies used in the world's leading teams.
Franco Colapinto's impact is beginning to be felt beyond the track. His arrival in Formula 1, after 23 years without an Argentinian presence in the category, not only mobilized fans and attracted brands, but also reactivated training projects for new talent. In this context, the Argentine Automobile Club (ACA) announced its return to European motorsport with a program that seeks to repeat the historic path that led Carlos Alberto Reutemann to
the elite.The initiative will focus on participation in Italian Formula 4 starting in 2026, where the ACA will be the main sponsor of the Alpha 54 Racing team. The project also has the support of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and the support of YPF, and marks the return of the entity to an international championship after more than five decades
.The precedent dates back to 1970, when the ACA promoted the arrival of Carlos Reutemann to Europe with Benedicto Caldarella in the Formula 2 European Championship, under the direction of Héctor Staffa. On board a Brabham BT30-Cosworth, the man from Santa Fe began a process that exploded in 1971, with a victory and six podiums that left him on the verge of the title against Ronnie Peterson and finally opened the doors of
Formula 1 for him.
More than half a century later, that model is taking shape again with Alpha 54, a structure based in Italy and Argentine roots, founded by Nicolás Bianco and Gregorio Mandrini, the latter with experience in Formula 1. The ACA explained that the choice responds to “the need to facilitate the adaptation of young pilots abroad, reducing language and cultural barriers, and promoting a closer and more efficient work environment
Palotini comes with an outstanding career in karting, with titles in IAME and Rotax Argentina, as well as a South American championship and international experience. Díaz Quaglia, meanwhile, began his career in 2022, consolidated himself at the national level and in 2025 he made the leap to single-seaters, competing in Formula Renault Plus, Formula Nacional and Formula 4
in Brazil.Both will be officially presented on April 20 at 11 o'clock on the first floor of the ACA headquarters, on Avenida del Libertador between Tagle and Pereyra Lucena, and will form part of a plan aimed at inserting them into European motorsport with international FIA licenses.
The relaunch also recovers a historic identity: the white and yellow that distinguished Argentine cars in Europe will return to the tracks as a symbol of a project that seeks to rebuild the path to Formula 1. In this scenario, the Colapinto effect ceased to be a promise to become a concrete engine of development for the next generations
.