Lando Norris has openly called for Franco Colapinto to be suspended for at least one race following the incident that eliminated both him and Pierre Gasly from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The controversy erupted on lap 36 when, after the first Safety‑Car restart, Colapinto mis‑judged his braking point into Turn 1. Carrying excess speed, he locked his brakes and slammed into the side of Alpine teammate Gasly, whose car was then forced into the outside of Norris’s McLaren. The impact sent Norris spinning into the barriers, while both Alpine cars suffered damage severe enough to force their retirement.
At the time of the collision, Gasly was running seventh, Norris eighth and Colapinto tenth. Visibly frustrated, Norris told the media: “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 added that the sport’s governing body should adopt a tougher stance on such reckless behaviour, suggesting a minimum one‑race ban for drivers who cause a restart‑phase crash.
“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,” the reigning world champion said. “The FIA needs to start handing out bans for this sort of thing.” Colapinto, for his part, expressed remorse both on the team radio and in post‑race interviews, calling his mistake “big” and apologising to the Alpine team, Gasly and Norris.
“A huge sorry to Pierre, to everyone in the factory that has been working really hard. We were both in the points, so it’s very sad and disappointing,” he said. He explained that cold brakes, cold tyres and a locked‑up wheel left him completely out of control, leading to the collision that took out both Alpine cars. The stewards handed Colapinto a ten‑second time penalty for causing the accident.
Because he had already retired, the penalty could not be served on track and was therefore converted into a five‑place grid drop for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Under Formula 1’s penalty‑point system, drivers receive a race ban after accumulating twelve points on their super licence over a rolling twelve‑month period.
Colapinto currently sits on four points and did not receive any additional points for the Azerbaijan incident; instead, the sanction was the grid penalty. Norris described Colapinto’s driving as “just careless” and unfit for the pinnacle of motorsport.
“It costs a lot of money – all my parts are in the bin now,” he lamented. “It is not the kind of driving that deserves to be in Formula 1.
In this sport you would expect drivers to anticipate low grip and cold tyre temperatures. When you see incidents like this, it tells you that some people really shouldn’t be there.” The British driver also noted that his weekend had already been challenging due to straight‑line speed deficiencies with his McLaren, which had forced him to drop behind Gasly earlier in the race after running wide at the first corner. Gasly, who was on course for his second‑best finish of the season in seventh place, had been enjoying a strong performance on the Baku street circuit. Alpine, meanwhile, were poised to close the nine‑point gap to Racing Bulls in the fight for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
The crash, however, left them fifteen points adrift after Racing Bulls surged late in the race, with Arvid Lindblad securing seventh place. Gasly, speaking to Sky Sports F1, admitted he was almost at a loss for words after the incident. “It’s not easy. We had a very good weekend, one of the best race cars we’ve had this season, and we were keeping up with Lewis [Hamilton] and Lando for most of the race.
We had a 14‑15‑second gap to the midfield,” he said. “There are many positives, but I’m still struggling to process the outcome.
Both cars were in the points and we ended up out‑scored by Racing Bulls. Not an ideal day, but we’ll move on and try to make up the lost points by the end of the year.” The aftermath also saw Gasly address the "completely inappropriate" online abuse he and his family received after the crash, noting that some Argentine fans had targeted him on social media. Both Alpine drivers have repeatedly condemned such behaviour, emphasizing that respect should be the foundation of any partnership. When asked about continuing to work with Colapinto next season, Gasly replied, “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 gotten along well since we first worked together, so we need to move on.” Looking ahead, Formula 1 returns to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix, marking the first Malaysian event since 2017. Fans can watch the live coverage on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. The incident in Azerbaijan has reignited the debate over driver standards and the adequacy of existing penalties, with many observers agreeing with Norris that the sport may need to enforce stricter consequences for reckless actions that endanger competitors and compromise the integrity of the competition.