Lando Norris has called for Franco Colapinto to be banned after the pair collided during a safety car restart at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The McLaren driver retired from the race along with Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, while Lewis Hamilton gave a one-word reply on his Ferrari future.
Crash on Safety Car Restart
The race was slowed by Alex Albon's crash, and more chaos followed as the safety car returned to the pit lane. Colapinto locked his front tyres and slammed into the side of his Alpine teammate, Pierre Gasly, who then slid into Norris on the outside of the corner.
All three drivers retired due to damage to their cars. Norris showed his frustration immediately as he headed back to the garage and called for a ban on Colapinto, claiming the level of driving was not to an F1 standard.
Norris Demands Stricter FIA Action
Norris said: "In Formula 1, I think you expect drivers to anticipate things, to know grip is going to be low, to know tyre temperatures are low. In Formula 1, we want to be against the best drivers in the world and, when stuff like this happens... Yeah, we shouldn't be there.
"I think the FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff. 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. I've not seen it but, if you cause a crash on a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban."
Colapinto admitted fault and was given a 10-second time penalty. However, this may turn into a grid drop for the next race in Malaysia as he could not serve the punishment before retiring.
Hamilton's Ferrari Response
In other news, Lewis Hamilton made his thoughts clear on Christian Horner's revelation that he would like to return to F1 with Ferrari. The ex-Red Bull boss has been out of the sport for just over a year but has already targeted a 24% stake in Alpine.
This was shut down by majority owner Renault, and Horner now appears to be eyeing Ferrari instead. Speaking to The Times, the 52-year-old said: "I've been a hired hand. I did 21 years sitting on the pit wall. I don't need to go back to that. At this stage in my life, there's only one team for which I would accept non-participation in ownership.
"Would I consider Ferrari? I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula 1. It's the dream. And, arguably, it's the sleeping giant of Formula One."
Hamilton issued a blunt response when asked if he wants to continue under the ownership of current Ferrari chief Frederic Vasseur, simply stating, "Yes." He then nodded when asked if he supports the Frenchman, shutting down any chance that he would be interested in working with Horner. Vasseur also did not entertain the topic much when asked in Azerbaijan, jokingly stating that reporters would have to ask his assistant for the answer.
