Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris has personally apologised to Franco Colapinto after initially calling for a race ban following a multi-car collision at Turn 1 of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The incident also involved Colapinto's Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and ended all three drivers' races.
The crash occurred on the restart after a Safety Car period, when Colapinto braked too deep and hit Gasly. The Frenchman was then sent into Norris' McLaren, causing significant damage to the British driver's car and forcing him to retire. Norris's immediate reaction was fierce, demanding that the FIA take stronger action and impose bans on drivers responsible for such incidents.
Speaking immediately after the race, Norris was critical. "I've not seen it. I just got taken out. I think the FIA should be stricter and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff," Norris said. "It's careless from people. It costs a lot of money; all my parts are in the bin now. People should just get banned, because that's not driving that deserves to be in Formula 1."
However, on Monday after the race, Norris walked back those remarks and revealed he had contacted Colapinto privately to apologise. In an Instagram post, he wrote, "Tough weekend overall in Baku and of course a disappointing and early end to the race. After the race, I sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said. I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me."
Norris added that he understands mistakes are part of racing at the limit. "I've made mistakes of my own over the years and I know this is very much a part of racing and fighting on the limit. Me and Franco came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend."
Colapinto had already accepted fault for the crash in the immediate aftermath, apologising to both Norris and Gasly after what had been a promising afternoon for Alpine unravelled. "Very sad and disappointed. Big, big sorry, it's a big mistake. Cold brakes, cold tyres, I was completely out of control. Unfortunately, I also took Pierre out. And Lando of course. Big sorry to both of them," Colapinto said.
The Argentine was subsequently handed a five-place grid penalty for the next round after being unable to serve his original 10-second sanction once he retired from the race. The incident also sparked a fresh wave of online abuse, with Norris among those targeted after his criticism of Colapinto spread across social media. That prompted Alpine to release another statement condemning the behaviour, continuing a pattern that has already forced the team to speak out several times this season. "As a team, we feel it's necessary to speak out once more about the hate and abuse online following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix," Alpine said. "Mistakes happen when racing at the limit and no m..."
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