Norris calls for Colapinto ban after Baku restart crash

Lando Norris says Franco Colapinto “shouldn’t be in Formula 1” and should be banned for at least a race after the Argentine caused a three-car crash at the first safety car restart at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Franco Colapinto misjudged his braking point from the inside line into the first turn when the race resumed on lap 32 and clobbered into his teammate, Pierre Gasly, who in turn clattered into Lando Norris, wiping all three drivers out of the race.

Norris had taken the restart ahead of Colapinto and was sizing up an around-the-outside move on both Gasly and Andrea Kimi Antonelli that looked likely to slot him into seventh for the second phase of the race.

Instead the reigning champion was left scoreless for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix in June.

A clearly frustrated Norris unleashed on the Argentine in post-race media comments, and though he admitted that he hadn’t yet seen a replay of the incident, he demanded Colapinto be banned for a race for being not up to Formula 1 standard.

“I think the FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff,” he said. “It’s just careless from people. It costs a lot of money. All my parts are in the bin now.

“People should just get banned, because that’s not driving that deserves to be in Formula 1.”

Colapinto took responsibility for the mistake, which he put down to “cold tires and cold brakes”, but Norris gave the excuse short shrift.

“In Formula 1 I think you expect drivers to anticipate things, to know grip is going to be low, know the tire temps are low — they weren’t even that low.

“When you’re in Formula 1, you want to be against the best drivers in the world, and when stuff like this happens, it’s because he shouldn’t be there.

“If you cause a crash on a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban.”

In a separate interview, Norris said the crash was caused by “some drivers that shouldn’t be in Formula 1”.

Colapinto didn’t rise to the criticism when Norris’s call for a one-race ban was put to him, though he said he was braced for a penalty of some description.

“Sorry to Lando as well — I also took him out, not only Pierre,” he said. “It’s a big mistake of course. I just locked up and then I was very out of control, I couldn’t do a lot.

“I’d expect to get something of course. I don’t know, I’m not a steward.

“Not a lot to say more than sorry to the team, to Pierre of course, to all the factory that has been working really hard to score points.

“I threw it away with that big mistake. I’m very sad for the team. Of course a big disappointment. Not much more than that.”

Colapinto was later handed a 10s penalty in a post-race stewards hearing, which will be converted to a five-place grid drop for next weekend's Bahrain grand prix in Malaysia.