Lando Norris has urged Formula 1’s governing body to impose a race ban on Franco Colapinto after the Alpine driver triggered a three-car accident during a restart at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The incident began when Colapinto locked his brakes and lost control, sliding into Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly. Gasly was then pushed into Norris, forcing all three drivers to retire.
Colapinto accepted responsibility for the crash, describing it as a major mistake after losing control under braking.
Norris argued that the FIA should respond more severely to incidents that eliminate uninvolved drivers and leave teams facing significant repair costs. The McLaren driver believes causing this type of restart collision should result in at least a one-race suspension.
Race winner George Russell and runner-up Max Verstappen disagreed with that position. Both said the incident appeared to result from a relatively small mistake on cold tyres rather than deliberate or reckless driving, and suggested a race ban would be excessive.
The stewards initially handed Colapinto a 10-second penalty. Because he had already retired, the sanction was converted into a five-place grid penalty for the next race.
The crash also proved costly for Alpine in the constructors’ championship. Gasly and Colapinto had been running seventh and 10th respectively before the collision and were both in contention for points.
Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad eventually finished seventh, increasing Racing Bulls’ advantage over Alpine in the battle for fifth in the standings to 15 points.
Gasly was left deeply disappointed after Alpine lost the chance to convert a competitive weekend into a strong points haul.
McLaren, meanwhile, is assessing the damage to Norris’ car. The team said it was still unclear whether the upgraded components introduced in Baku would be available for Norris at the following race.