Franco Colapinto has been handed a five-place grid penalty for next month's Bahrain Grand Prix after a collision in Azerbaijan on Saturday.
The race was forced into a restart on lap 36 when Liam Lawson hit a wall. As the drivers lined up to go again, Colapinto went deep down the inside at Turn 1 in an attempt to overtake, only to crash into his team-mate Pierre Gasly. The contact sent Gasly into McLaren's Lando Norris, who skidded into the race barrier and retired alongside both Alpine drivers.
Stewards' decision
The stewards reviewed video, timing and in-car evidence. Their report stated that Colapinto braked too late and entered the corner on the inside at a speed that did not allow him to make the corner in a controlled manner. He overshot the corner and made contact with the left-hand side of Gasly, who then hit Norris, and both cars retired.
The stewards considered that Colapinto was wholly or predominantly to blame for the collision. Although the incident occurred at the first corner following the restart, they said there was no contribution from another driver that would justify applying a more lenient first-lap approach.
Penalty conversion
The standard penalty for causing a collision is a 10-second time penalty. As Colapinto had retired from the race and was unable to serve the time penalty, the stewards converted it to a drop of five grid positions at the next race in which he participates, in accordance with Article B1.9.6.(e) of the FIA 2026 F1 Regulations.
Competitors were reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions within the applicable time limits, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 5 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.
