Norris vs Colapinto: The Baku Crash, the “Shouldn’t Be in F1” Row and Colapinto’s Grid Penalty
One restart at Turn 1 took out three cars, triggered the reigning champion’s angriest comments of the year, an apology two days later and a pointed reply from Colapinto at Sepang. Here’s the full story, and what the five-place grid penalty means this weekend.
Norris vs Colapinto: The Crash, the Row, the Penalty
A Turn 1 restart, harsh words, an apology and a grid drop at Sepang.
The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be remembered for George Russell’s win, but the story that has followed F1 to Malaysia started in the midfield. At the lap 36 safety car restart, Franco Colapinto braked too late into Turn 1, hit his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, and Gasly was pushed into Lando Norris. Gasly and Norris were both out on the spot.
Minutes later, Norris, the reigning world champion, said there were “some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1” and called for strong action. The stewards gave Colapinto a five-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang. Alpine condemned the online abuse that followed, Norris apologised publicly, and on Thursday Colapinto gave his own response. Here’s how it all unfolded. For this weekend’s start times, see our guide to the next F1 race.
The Crash: Turn 1, Lap 36
Baku’s first safety car period ended at the start of lap 36 of 51. Restarts at Baku are always tense: the field is bunched up, the run to Turn 1 is short, and the tow from the car in front is huge. Colapinto came up behind his team-mate Gasly, braked too late and arrived at the corner too fast. He overshot and hit the left side of Gasly’s Alpine, which was pushed into Norris’s McLaren.
Both Gasly and Norris retired. Colapinto’s race also ended. For Alpine it was a painful loss: Gasly had been running in the points. “I don’t think I really have words,” he said. “P7 and P10 was a very good race, good pace.” Colapinto apologised straight away: “Just a big sorry to all of them, to the factory, to Pierre… We were both in a position to score points.”
The Row: “Some Drivers That Shouldn’t Be in F1”
Norris was clearly furious when he spoke to the media after retiring. “I just got taken out,” he said. “Just some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1, to be honest.” He also said Colapinto should face strong action from the FIA, and his comments were widely reported as a call for a ban.
Coming from the reigning world champion, it was a strong statement, and it quickly spread online. Some of the reaction went too far. Alpine issued a statement, its second of the season on the subject, condemning abusive comments aimed at drivers, media and team accounts, including Colapinto, Gasly and Norris: “Mistakes happen when racing at the limit and no matter the result or outcome, nobody should be subject to hateful or abusive comments.” The team added that it was “a regular occurrence in recent races and cannot be condoned.”
Fans can disagree about who was to blame and whether Norris was right to speak out. Personal abuse of drivers, team staff or journalists is a different thing, and teams and the FIA have repeatedly called for it to stop.
The Penalty: Why Colapinto Has a Grid Drop at Sepang
The stewards found Colapinto “wholly or predominantly to blame” for the collision and gave him a 10-second time penalty. Because he retired from the race, he couldn’t serve it, so under the rules it was converted into a five-place grid penalty for the next race.
| Detail | Decision |
|---|---|
| Incident | Collision with Gasly at Turn 1, lap 36 restart |
| Stewards’ finding | Colapinto “wholly or predominantly to blame” |
| Original penalty | 10-second time penalty |
| Converted to GRID DROP | 5 places at the next race, because he had retired |
| Applies at | Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, Malaysia (4 October) |
The penalty is a real setback for Colapinto this weekend. Sepang is a new venue for the 2026 cars, and starting five places further back makes points much harder to reach. Our explainer on appeals in F1 covers how penalties can be challenged, and our guide to safety cars explains why restarts are so risky.
The Apology, and Colapinto’s Reply
Two days after the race, Norris apologised publicly in a post on Instagram. “After the race, I sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said… it was wrong of me,” he wrote, adding that the two had come to “a good understanding” and are “still good friends”, both “excited to get back racing”.
At Sepang media day on Thursday, he went further. “I think I don’t normally get caught up in the heat of the moment but this was certainly one of the cases where I think I did,” Norris said. “I spoke to him already on Sunday night as soon as I could.” He also praised Colapinto: “Franco is a good friend of mine who I get on well with. He always means well. He’s a very good guy.”
“We all make mistakes. One of those things was me making the mistake last weekend.”
Colapinto’s response on the same day was more pointed. He didn’t criticise Norris directly, but he drew a comparison with how Max Verstappen reacted when Kimi Antonelli took him out at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix. “Max has always been very understanding with the younger drivers because he’s made mistakes, too,” Colapinto said. “And that’s just his way and the champion he is. He’s someone all young drivers would look up to, and he’s a hero to many.” Asked about the difference in reactions, he said: “It’s simply a difference in experience between different drivers.”
Many read that as a gentle but clear dig at the reigning champion. Whether it reopens the row or closes it may depend on how the two get on when they share the track again this weekend.
What Happens Next at Sepang
For Norris, Baku was a costly zero. He’s fourth in the championship on 186 points, behind Antonelli, Russell and Hamilton, and every lost race makes a top-three finish harder. For Gasly, it was a lost chance at a points finish for Alpine. For Colapinto, the weekend starts with a five-place grid drop at a track the 2026 cars have never raced on.
The Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang starts at 15:00 local time on Sunday 4 October (08:00 UK). For the championship picture, see our F1 standings, and for more from the Baku weekend: how Baku changed the title fight and the four grid penalties that reshaped the Baku grid.
Norris vs Colapinto — FAQ
Heat of the moment, and the morning after
A single restart mistake cost three drivers their race, a world champion said something he later regretted, and a young driver now starts this weekend five places back. Norris has apologised, Colapinto has had his say, and both are back on track at Sepang.
Follow World of Speed for full coverage of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
