Lando Norris has publicly called for a race suspension for Franco Colapinto following the incident that eliminated both him and Pierre Gasly from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The controversy unfolded on lap 36, when the safety‑car period ended and the field surged back onto the track. Colapinto, still on cold tyres and with brakes that had not yet reached operating temperature, misjudged his braking point into Turn 1.
Carrying excessive speed, he clipped the side of Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, sending Gasly’s car into the outer wall of Lando Norris’s McLaren. The impact spun Norris into the barriers, while both Alpine cars suffered damage severe enough to force their retirement. At the moment of the crash, Gasly was running seventh, Norris eighth and Colapinto tenth, meaning all three drivers were comfortably within the points.
Visibly upset, Norris told reporters, "At the end of the day, I just got taken out. Just some drivers that shouldn't be in Formula 1, to be honest." He went on to stress that the governing body should be tougher on reckless behaviour, adding, "I've not seen it, but if you cause a crash in a restart like this, you should have at least a one‑race ban. I just got taken out.
And the FIA should be stricter by starting to hand out bans for this kind of stuff." Colapinto immediately expressed remorse both over the team radio and in post‑race interviews. He described the incident as a "big mistake" and apologized to the entire Alpine operation, to Pierre in particular, and to Lando as well.
"Cold brakes, cold tyres, locked up and completely out of control – I am very sorry to Pierre, to everyone in the factory and to Lando," he said. The stewards handed Colapinto a ten‑second time penalty for causing the collision, but because he had already retired, the penalty was converted into a five‑place grid drop for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Under the current FIA penalty‑point system, a driver receives a race ban after accumulating twelve points on his super‑licence within a rolling twelve‑month window. Colapinto entered the Azerbaijan weekend with four points and did not receive any additional points for the incident, only the grid penalty.
Norris, however, was not satisfied with the modest sanction. He labeled Colapinto’s driving as "just careless" and unfit for the pinnacle of motorsport, noting the financial impact of the crash: "It costs a lot of money, all my parts are in the bin now. It is not driving that deserves to be in Formula 1." Norris also pointed out that experienced drivers should be able to anticipate low grip and low tyre temperature after a safety‑car period. "In Formula 1 you would expect that drivers can anticipate that the grip will be low and tyre temperatures are low.
You want to be against the best drivers and when stuff like this happens it is because, yeah, they shouldn't be there," he explained. The incident compounded a difficult weekend for Norris, who had already been battling straight‑line speed deficits with his McLaren. Earlier in the race he had been forced wide at the first corner, dropping behind Gasly. For Alpine, the crash was a major setback.
Both cars had been in the points and were poised to close the nine‑point gap to Racing Bulls in the Constructors' Championship. Instead, the team emerged from Baku fifteen points behind after a late surge by Racing Bulls saw Arvid Lindblad claim seventh place.
Gasly, who finished the race in the points before the crash, expressed his frustration to Sky Sports F1, saying, "It's not easy. We did a very good weekend and it was one of the best race cars we've had this season. The pace was great, keeping up with Lewis and Lando for most of the race, and we had a 14‑ or 15‑second gap to the midfield. So I think a lot of positives to take away but I'm still struggling to process the outcome and the fact we had both cars in the points and in the end we got outscored by Racing Bulls by a lot of points.
Not an ideal day but I'm sure we are going to move on from it. Unfortunately, we have lost out today, hopefully we can make it up to the end of the year." In the days that followed, Gasly also addressed the "completely inappropriate" social‑media abuse he and his family endured after the incident, noting that some Argentine fans had targeted him online. Both Alpine drivers have repeatedly condemned such behaviour.
Looking ahead, both Gasly and Colapinto are confirmed to remain with Alpine for the next season. When asked whether their partnership could survive the fallout, Gasly emphasized respect as the foundation: "Respect. It's all about respect.
As long as there is respect, everything is possible." Colapinto echoed the sentiment, stating, "We are good. We have always been quite good together. Since we worked together for the first time, we got on very well so we need to move on." The Formula 1 calendar now turns to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix, marking the first visit to the venue since 2017.
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