Lando Norris has issued a public apology to Franco Colapinto after previously calling for a race ban for the Alpine driver. The apology came via social media, two days after the multi-car collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
The incident occurred on lap 36 during a restart. Colapinto locked up entering Turn 1 on the slippery street circuit, triggering a pile-up that eliminated himself, his teammate Pierre Gasly, and Norris. All three were forced to retire early, with Norris losing a strong points-scoring opportunity.
In his immediate post-race comments, Norris was highly critical. He felt the FIA needed to be stricter with careless driving. "I think the FIA should be stricter and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff," Norris said. He added that the crash cost a lot of money and that all his parts were "in the bin."
However, after two days to reflect, Norris realised his comments were excessive. In a social media post, he revealed he had privately messaged Colapinto to apologise. "I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me," Norris wrote. He also acknowledged that he has made mistakes himself and understands that such incidents are part of racing at the limit.
Colapinto has taken responsibility for his "big mistake," which also frustrated Alpine team boss Flavio Briatore as it cost the team a double points finish. Nevertheless, the relationship between Norris and Colapinto remains intact. "Me and Franco came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend," Norris concluded.
The apology is significant given that Colapinto had faced online abuse following the incident. Fellow drivers George Russell and Max Verstappen had previously said that talk of a race ban was "too harsh." The Baku incident serves as a reminder of the high stakes on narrow street circuits where any mistake can have major consequences.
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