Lando Norris has revealed the reason behind his apology to Franco Colapinto following their collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The McLaren driver admitted that his calls for a race ban for Colapinto triggered a fierce online backlash, including abuse that crossed the line.
The incident in Baku involved several drivers and caused chaos on track. Norris, the reigning Formula 1 champion, initially lashed out at Colapinto. But he soon realised his words went too far and reached out privately to the Argentine driver to apologise.
“I said what I wanted to say to Franco and he's the only one I really need to share my opinion and apology with,” Norris said in a press conference in Malaysia on Thursday. “I don't need to do it on social media, but there was a lot of noise in the background, and I thought it was sensible to announce that apology. I accept that I was in the wrong.”
Norris stressed that his conversation with Colapinto was brief and that both accepted their respective faults. “I apologised to him for some of the things I said that were wrong, and he apologised to me for the incident. I like Franco a lot, he's a very nice guy, we always talk on track walks and drivers' parades. We were both just apologising to each other, nothing more,” he explained.
However, Norris regretted the online abuse that followed his comments and called for social media platforms to do more to stop toxic behaviour. “Sadly, that's what we and a lot of sports deal with. Some of it is down to passion, and that's what you always have in sports. Social media makes it so easy to share opinions. But when it comes to online abuse, death threats, all of that is way beyond being a fan. There's a line,” he said.
He also emphasised that athletes and sports organisations need to take more action. “It highlights the fact that social media platforms, sports, maybe the athletes need to do more to stop this kind of stuff. Because some people can deal with it much better than others,” he added.
The Azerbaijan incident was a major talking point due to the involvement of several top drivers. Colapinto, then driving for Alpine, faced heavy criticism. But Norris's apology shows that on-track rivalry should not damage relationships off it. The two are known to have a good rapport and often chat casually.
This case serves as a reminder that pressure in racing comes not only from competition but also from public expectations and fan behaviour. Norris, as champion, sets an example of how a driver must control emotions and take responsibility for his words. Meanwhile, Colapinto, still young, learns that on-track incidents can have wide repercussions.
With this apology, Norris hopes to ease tensions and refocus on racing. He also urged fans to be more mindful on social media. “I hope this serves as a lesson for all of us,” he concluded.
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