Norris demands race ban for Colapinto after Baku restart crash takes out three cars

Collision on lap 36 restart

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix turned turbulent on lap 36 during a restart following a safety car period triggered by an off-track incident involving Alex Albon. Alpine driver Franco Colapinto locked his brakes heavily approaching turn one on the dusty inside line and lost control of his car. The Argentine driver speared into his teammate Pierre Gasly, which then shoved the McLaren of defending champion Lando Norris into the outside barriers. All three cars sustained heavy damage and were forced to retire from the race on the spot.

The crash eliminated both Alpine entries while they were running inside the top ten, costing the team valuable points in the fight for fifth place in the constructors' championship. Gasly, who had faced online hostility alongside his family from Argentine supporters following an earlier dispute in Spain, noted that emotions remained high but accepted the immediate apology offered by his teammate.

“It's been a big mistake of course. I just locked-up and then I was very out of control.”

Norris demands driver suspensions

Norris, who was running in eighth position at the time of the crash, vented his anger after walking back to the paddock. The British driver had endured a difficult afternoon dealing with poor straight-line speed in his McLaren before the incident ended his race entirely. With McLaren introducing a package of new upgrades for Baku, Norris noted that all replacement parts were destroyed ahead of the next round in Malaysia. The non-finish leaves Norris 116 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli with eight races remaining on the calendar.

“The FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff.”

Norris maintained that drivers must anticipate cold tyre temperatures and reduced grip levels during street restarts, asserting that such reckless misjudgements do not belong in Formula One. McLaren endured a scoreless weekend overall, as teammate Oscar Piastri finished outside the top ten after a separate lock-up at turn one.

Podium finishers defend Colapinto as penalty is set

Drivers on the podium offered a contrasting perspective to Norris's call for severe disciplinary action. Mercedes driver George Russell, who won the race ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and third-placed Isack Hadjar, argued that the low speeds behind the safety car make restarting on cold tyres exceptionally difficult.

“I think, personally, race bans should come from drivers intentionally doing something very dangerous and very reckless.”

Verstappen agreed that demanding a race ban was an overreaction, pointing out that lock-ups on low-grip surfaces are standard racing miscalculations rather than deliberate misconduct. Hadjar added that the track surface off the racing line in Baku is bumpy and unforgiving. Race stewards handed Colapinto a 10-second time penalty, which was officially converted into a five-place grid penalty for the next grand prix because he could not serve it during the race.