Norris Apologises to Colapinto After Baku Race-Ban Call

Lando Norris has apologised to Franco Colapinto for the comments he made immediately after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The reigning world champion had said that “there are some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1” and suggested Colapinto should be banned after the Alpine driver triggered the collision that ended Norris’s race. On Monday, 28 September, Norris used Instagram to withdraw those remarks and confirm that he had already contacted Colapinto directly.

“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 that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me.” He added that the pair “came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend.”

What happened in Baku

The incident came at the first Safety Car restart, following Alex Albon’s crash. Colapinto locked up at Turn 1 and went too deep, hitting his Alpine team mate Pierre Gasly. Gasly’s car was then pushed into Norris’s McLaren, and all three drivers were forced to retire. It was a costly moment for both teams: Alpine lost two cars at once, and McLaren left Baku without a point after Oscar Piastri also dropped out of contention following a lock-up.

The stewards gave Colapinto a 10-second time penalty. Because he did not finish the race, that was converted into a five-place grid penalty for the next round, the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang. Colapinto accepted responsibility, explaining that he lost control after locking his tyres and brakes while they were still cold, and apologised to Gasly, Norris and Alpine.

• Colapinto locked up at Turn 1 at the first Safety Car restart.
• His Alpine hit Gasly, whose car was pushed into Norris’s McLaren.
• All three drivers retired from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
• Colapinto received a 10-second penalty, converted to a five-place grid drop for Sepang.
• Norris apologised publicly two days later, on Monday 28 September.

The reaction in the paddock

Norris’s initial call for a ban did not find much support. GrandPrix.com reports that George Russell, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar all argued that a ban would be disproportionate for what was essentially a racing error at a restart. Cold tyres and brakes after a Safety Car period are a known risk, and mistakes in those circumstances have happened to many drivers.

The situation also took an uglier turn online. Alpine issued a statement condemning the abuse aimed at Colapinto on social media. “Mistakes happen when racing at the limit and no matter the result or outcome, nobody should be subject to hateful or abusive comments,” the team said. Alpine described the problem as universal, not limited to any one driver or fan base, and called for coordinated action across the sport.

Alpine’s Flavio Briatore said the team would conduct its own internal review of Colapinto’s error as a sporting matter. That separation is important. A team can hold a driver accountable for a mistake while also rejecting the abuse that followed it.

Why the apology matters

Norris is the reigning world champion and one of the sport’s most followed drivers. His comments in the media pen, made moments after an early retirement, reached a large audience. By acknowledging they were wrong, he has helped reduce the temperature of a story that had begun to spill into personal attacks. His apology also acknowledged that he had made mistakes of his own over the years and that incidents are part of racing at the limit.

The emotions are understandable. Norris sits fourth in the standings on 186 points, well behind leader Kimi Antonelli on 302, and a non-score in Baku was damaging. McLaren had qualified well, with Piastri third and Norris fifth, and expected a strong result. Losing a potential podium through no fault of his own was a significant blow. But drivers are expected to separate frustration from judgement once they have had time to reflect, and Norris did so.

What comes next

• Colapinto begins the Sepang weekend knowing he must serve a five-place grid penalty.
• Alpine will want both cars to finish after a double retirement in Baku.
• McLaren needs a strong response after scoring no points in Azerbaijan.
• Norris will aim to rebuild momentum in the drivers’ standings.
• The sport continues to face questions about online abuse of drivers.

Colapinto’s grid penalty makes his Sepang weekend harder, but his earlier results show he can score. He finished seventh on Formula 1’s Madrid debut earlier in September, and Alpine will hope he can put Baku behind him quickly. Gasly, meanwhile, will want to recover from a race in which he was simply an innocent victim.

For Malaysian fans, the incident adds another storyline to the Sepang weekend. Norris and Colapinto will both be on track in Malaysia, and the public tone between them now appears settled. The on-track test will be whether both can deliver clean, strong races, and whether the restart procedures that caused so much chaos in Baku run more smoothly next time.

Restarts under scrutiny

The Baku incident also renewed attention on Safety Car restarts. When the field bunches up behind the Safety Car, tyres and brakes cool quickly, and the first braking zone after the restart becomes one of the riskiest moments of the race. On a street circuit with walls close to the track, a small misjudgement can involve several cars. Colapinto’s explanation that his tyres and brakes were still cold highlights a problem every driver faces.

Drivers try to generate heat by weaving and braking hard behind the Safety Car, but the effect is limited, especially in cool conditions or on low-grip surfaces. Some drivers also try to gain an advantage at the restart by leaving a late gap to the car ahead. The result can be a pack of cars arriving at the first corner with different levels of grip, which makes collisions more likely.

For Norris, the fact that the collision was triggered by a car he was not racing directly added to the frustration. He had started fifth and was hoping for a strong result, and a retirement through no fault of his own is one of the hardest outcomes for a driver to accept. His apology showed that he recognised the difference between understandable anger and unfair criticism.

In a season with plenty of tension, this episode ended better than it began. A mistake led to a heated reaction, the reaction led to abuse, and then an apology helped to calm things down. Formula 1 will hope that the focus now returns to racing, and that drivers, teams and fans can separate criticism of a sporting error from personal attacks.