Lando Norris has openly called for Franco Colapinto to be suspended for a race 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 rolled back onto the start‑finish straight. Colapinto, still on cold tyres and struggling with brake balance, mis‑judged his braking point into Turn 1. Carrying excessive speed, he clipped the side of Alpine teammate Gasly, sending the French driver’s car sideways into the outside of Norris’s McLaren.
The impact spun Norris into the barriers, while both Alpines sustained enough damage to force their retirement. At the time of the crash Gasly was running seventh, Norris eighth and Colapinto tenth. Visibly frustrated, 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 added that, in his view, a driver who causes a restart‑phase collision should automatically face at least a one‑race ban, urging the FIA to adopt stricter penalties for such reckless behaviour.
"I haven't seen anything like this before, but if you cause a crash on a restart you deserve a ban," the British driver said. Colapinto immediately expressed remorse over the team radio and later in post‑race interviews, describing the episode as a "big mistake." He apologized to the Alpine garage, to Gasly and to the whole team for the lost points. "We were both in the points and it’s very disappointing.
It was cold brakes, cold tyres, a lock‑up and I lost control," he explained, acknowledging that his error also took Lando out of the race. The stewards handed Colapinto a ten‑second time penalty for causing the collision. 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 the FIA’s penalty‑point system, drivers who collect twelve points on their super licence within a twelve‑month window receive an automatic race ban. Colapinto currently sits on four points and did not receive any additional points for the Azerbaijan incident, meaning the grid penalty is his only sanction for that weekend. Norris characterised Colapinto’s driving as "just careless" and not befitting the standards of Formula 1. "It costs a lot of money – all my parts are now in the bin," he said, adding that a driver in this sport should be able to anticipate low grip and cold tyre conditions.
"When something like this happens, it shows that they shouldn’t be there." The British driver also noted that his own weekend had been challenging due to a lack of straight‑line speed, which forced him to drop behind Gasly earlier in the race after running wide at the first corner. Gasly, who had been on course for a season‑best seventh place, expressed disappointment after the incident, saying he had been proud of the car’s performance, which allowed him to keep pace with Lewis Hamilton and Norris for much of the race.
"We had a 14‑15 second gap to the midfield and a strong weekend overall, but the outcome is hard to process," he told Sky Sports F1. "We lost out to Racing Bulls by a large margin, and that’s not the day we wanted." The crash also had broader implications for the Constructors' Championship. Alpine had been poised to close the nine‑point gap to Racing Bulls, who were sitting 12th and 14th at the time. Instead, the incident left Alpine fifteen points adrift after Racing Bulls surged late in the race, with Arvid Lindblad finishing seventh.
Beyond the on‑track drama, Gasly addressed the wave of online abuse he and his family received after the incident, describing it as "completely inappropriate." Both he and Colapinto have condemned the harassment directed at drivers by a minority of Argentine fans, emphasizing that such behaviour has no place in the sport. Despite the tension, the pair remain contracted to Alpine for the next season. When asked about their future partnership, Gasly replied, "Respect. It’s all about respect.
As long as there is respect, everything is possible." Colapinto echoed the sentiment, stating, "We have always gotten along well since we first worked together, so we need to move on." Formula 1 will travel to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the first time since 2017, hosting the Bahrain Grand Prix (the season‑opening race) on the weekend following the Azerbaijan event. Fans can watch live coverage on Sky Sports F1, with streaming options available via NOW without a long‑term contract. The incident serves as a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in motorsport and has reignited the debate over whether the FIA should impose harsher penalties for drivers whose mistakes end the races of their peers.