🚨BREAKING: podium didn’t agree with Lando Norris suggesting a race ban for Franco Colapinto…Baku Podium Rejects Lando Norris’ Call for Franco Colapinto Race Ban
Lando Norris’ frustration following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sparked a debate over whether Franco Colapinto deserved a race ban, but the drivers who finished on the Baku podium did not agree with the McLaren star’s assessment.
Norris was forced to retire after Colapinto caused a three-car collision during a Safety Car restart. On lap 36, the Alpine driver locked up under braking at Turn 1 and collided with his teammate Pierre Gasly. Gasly’s car was then sent into Norris’ McLaren, putting all three drivers out of the race.
Speaking immediately after the incident, Norris was furious and called for the FIA to take stronger action against drivers involved in incidents of this nature. The reigning world champion argued that Colapinto should receive at least a one-race ban, saying that mistakes during restarts can have significant consequences for other competitors and teams.
Colapinto accepted responsibility for the crash. The Argentine explained that he locked up with cold tyres and brakes and admitted that he had lost control of the car. He apologised to Alpine, Gasly and Norris for the incident.
However, Norris’ call for a suspension did not receive support from the leading drivers on the Baku podium.
Race winner George Russell described a race ban as “too harsh”, pointing to the difficult conditions during Safety Car restarts. According to Russell, cold tyres and a small mistake can produce much larger consequences, and he felt that race bans should generally be reserved for intentionally dangerous or particularly reckless behaviour.
Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar also did not support Norris’ call for a ban, with the podium drivers broadly viewing the incident as a mistake rather than an offence deserving the most severe sporting punishment.
The FIA stewards ultimately took a different approach from the one Norris requested. Colapinto was judged to have been “wholly or predominantly to blame” for the collision and received a 10-second penalty. Because he retired from the race and could not serve the penalty, it was converted into a five-place grid drop for his next Grand Prix.
The crash proved particularly costly for Alpine, which had been in position to score points with both cars before the restart. Gasly was also visibly frustrated after losing his race through the collision with his teammate.
For Norris, meanwhile, the incident added to a difficult weekend in Baku and denied him valuable points. His comments have nevertheless opened a wider discussion about how Formula 1 should punish drivers who cause major crashes during Safety Car restarts.
While Norris believes stronger penalties, including race bans, are necessary, the response from Russell and the other podium finishers shows that there is no unanimous view among drivers over where the threshold for such a punishment should lie.
