Reigning world champion Lando Norris has issued an apology to Franco Colapinto following his strong criticism after their collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris had initially called for a race ban for the Alpine driver after the multi-car incident in Baku. The McLaren driver retracted his comments via social media on Monday, September 28, 2026.
The incident occurred during the first Safety Car restart on Lap 36 of the 51-lap Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Colapinto, driving for Alpine, locked his front wheels at Turn 1.
This resulted in him colliding with his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Gasly’s car was then shunted into the McLaren of Norris, ending the race for all three drivers.
Immediately after the race, a frustrated Norris expressed his view that Colapinto ‘shouldn’t be in Formula 1’. He further suggested that the FIA should impose ‘at least a one-race ban’ for such ‘careless’ driving.
Norris, who is currently 116 points behind the championship leader, was left scoreless for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this season.
Colapinto promptly took responsibility for the crash, attributing his loss of control to cold tyres and brakes. He issued apologies to Gasly, Norris, and the Alpine team.
The FIA stewards subsequently handed Colapinto a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. As he had retired from the race, this penalty was converted.
Colapinto will now serve a five-place grid penalty at the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
In his Instagram post, Norris acknowledged that ’emotions were running high’ but stated, ‘it was wrong of me’. He added that he had made mistakes himself over the years, recognising it as part of racing on the limit.
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 confirmed that he and Colapinto had since spoken and ‘came to a good understanding’, maintaining their friendship. Both drivers are now focused on the next race weekend.
Other drivers, including George Russell and Max Verstappen, offered a more lenient perspective on the incident. Russell described it as ‘a small error that had a big consequence’, suggesting a race ban would be ‘too harsh’.
Alpine also released a statement condemning the online abuse directed at Colapinto and other members of the Formula 1 community following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The team emphasised that mistakes are inherent in racing at the limit and do not justify hateful comments.
This statement from Alpine follows previous instances of online harassment targeting drivers such as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon earlier this season.
Lando Norris competes for McLaren alongside Oscar Piastri in the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Norris running the number 1 as reigning world champion.
Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly form the driver line-up for Alpine in 2026, with Alpine utilising Mercedes power units this season.
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia is scheduled for next weekend, where Colapinto will start five places lower than his qualifying position.
