Max Verstappen believes Lando Norris's call for Franco Colapinto to be banned for a collision in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix "is a bit much." The incident occurred at Turn 1 during the first safety car restart on Saturday, involving the Alpine driver, his teammate Pierre Gasly, and reigning world champion Lando Norris.
Norris had earlier launched a scathing attack, labelling Colapinto a driver "that shouldn't be in Formula 1" and demanding a race ban. However, several leading names on the grid rushed to Colapinto's defence. Baku race winner George Russell argued that race bans should only be for drivers who "intentionally" do something "very reckless."
"Yeah, I think that's too harsh, personally," Russell said in the post-race press conference. "Safety car restarts, cold tyres, a very small mistake can have big consequences. From what I saw today, that's what it looked like. It was a small error that had a big consequence. I think, personally, race bans should come from drivers intentionally doing something very dangerous and very reckless. So I think it was unfortunate."
Verstappen, who finished second, added that as long as the driver at fault is aware of what he did and apologised, such incidents are part of racing. "A small mistake or misjudgement, you lock up, it's on the inside, low grip, and of course, then I guess a bit unfortunate that it involves so many cars. But unfortunate, happens, and it's not nice for anyone involved. Like George said, I think a race ban probably is a bit much."
Isack Hadjar, who was third in the sister Red Bull, blamed the track as "not good enough" for F1 standards and believes this was the main factor in the collision. "From my side, I think the track is not good enough. You move out of the racing line, it starts to be very bumpy. It's hard to generate temperature behind the safety car, it's going quite slowly. So then you just overdo it, and then it has big, big consequences. So, I think, yeah, a race ban is way too harsh."
Colapinto has been given a five-place grid penalty for next week's Bahrain Grand Prix. The incident adds to the list of safety car restart controversies this season, where tyre temperatures and grip are crucial factors. Drivers continue to urge the FIA to evaluate restart procedures to reduce the risk of multi-car accidents. Meanwhile, the support from fellow drivers demonstrates paddock solidarity that human error in difficult conditions does not always warrant the harshest penalty.
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