Lando Norris has called on Formula 1 chiefs to ban Franco Colapinto after the Alpine driver's error resulted in him crashing out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The defending champion also claimed that some drivers 'shouldn't be in F1' as he vented his frustration.
Crash on restart ends Norris's race
On the first of two safety car restarts during a dramatic race in Baku, Colapinto locked up at turn 1 and crashed into his Alpine team-mate, Pierre Gasly. In a domino effect, Gasly hit Norris and sent the McLaren star into the wall, having been on course for a points finish after qualifying P5.
But Norris was instead forced to retire on a woeful day for McLaren. Set for a first podium finish since May, Oscar Piastri went wide and tumbled down to P14.
Norris vents frustration
After trudging off the track, Norris bemoaned his lack of pace in the Grand Prix - during which he also locked up to lose ground - and took a swipe at Colapinto. "I just was slow. I was struggling a lot on the straights. You saw how quickly everyone came past me," the 26-year-old lamented.
"Just an impossible race out there for me from that side, straight-line speed, today. Hopefully we get that fixed for next time. Otherwise, I still made the mistake."
"At the end of the day, I just got taken out… just some drivers that shouldn't be in F1, to be honest."
When speaking to the written media, Norris called on the FIA to ban Colapinto for the next race. "I've not seen it, but if you cause a crash in a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban," he added.
"I just got taken out. And the FIA should be stricter by starting to hand out bans for this kind of stuff."
Colapinto apologises
Colapinto, meanwhile, apologised for his mistake and took full responsibility. "A big sorry to all of them, to the factory, to Pierre of course," the Argentine said.
"[I] took him out, so really disappointed. We were both in a position to score points, was a big day for the team and [I] did a big mistake. Big sorry, it shouldn't happen."
Gasly's response was a diplomatic one, with Alpine's hopes of a double points finish thrown away by Colapinto. "I don't think I really have words and I don't need the words now," Gasly admitted.
"We'll manage it together as a team. I'm obviously very disappointed for all the guys, P7 and P10 was a very good race, good pace. Honestly, I have no idea how to answer your question. Got to move on."
And move on they will, with Baku marking the start of a triple-header. F1 returns to Malaysia next weekend for the first time since the 2018 season, although it'll still be referred to as the Bahrain Grand Prix after it was postponed in March due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
