Lando Norris apologises to Franco Colapinto following Azerbaijan Grand Prix collision
Lando Norris has publicly apologised to Franco Colapinto, admitting that his heated remarks following their collision at last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix were unjustified, reports BritPanorama.
The McLaren driver and reigning world champion had launched a scathing attack on the Argentine rookie in the immediate aftermath of the Baku race, calling for a ban and questioning whether Colapinto deserved his place on the Formula 1 grid.
The British driver has now conceded that his emotional outburst was inappropriate. Taking to Instagram, Norris acknowledged that he ought to have known better, describing his initial reaction as simply “wrong.”
The crash unfolded during a safety car restart on the streets of Baku last Saturday. Colapinto, driving for Alpine, misjudged his braking on the approach to Turn 1 while occupying the inside line. The Argentine locked his wheels and careered into the side of his teammate Pierre Gasly. The impact sent Gasly’s car sliding into Norris’s McLaren on the outside, pitching the reigning champion into the barriers and bringing his afternoon to a premature end. Both Alpine machines were likewise forced into retirement.
All three drivers had been running in points-scoring positions at the time of the incident. In the heat of the moment, Norris had been unsparing, stating, “Just some drivers that shouldn’t be in Formula 1, to be honest.” He insisted that “if you cause a crash in a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban.”
His subsequent apology struck a markedly different tone. “After the race, I sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said,” Norris wrote. “I know better and emotions were running high, but this is not an excuse. It was wrong of me.”
The backlash against Norris’s initial tirade was swift, with Argentine supporters directing considerable anger towards the McLaren man. Alpine were compelled to release a statement urging restraint from fans. Fellow drivers also rallied behind Colapinto, with George Russell and Max Verstappen suggesting that Norris’s demand for a race ban was excessively harsh.
The FIA stewards handed Colapinto a ten-second time penalty, subsequently converted into a five-place grid drop for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia after the rookie had already retired from the Baku race. Norris confirmed the pair “are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend.”
In the often tempestuous world of Formula 1, rivalries and regrets can collide with extreme intensity. As the Bahrain Grand Prix approaches, all eyes will be on how these two drivers channel their recent experiences on the track, reminding us how swiftly the dynamics of competition can shift.
