Lando Norris has apologised to Franco Colapinto after harshly criticising him following their collision at the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Norris said he spoke to Colapinto privately on Sunday night, then acknowledged publicly that his remarks were wrong and that being caught up in the heat of the moment was no excuse. Colapinto said the comments surprised him, but the two had talked and resolved the matter.
How the Baku collision unfolded
The incident began at Turn 1 during the first Safety Car restart. Colapinto locked up and hit his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly; Gasly then struck Norris’s McLaren. Gasly and Norris retired, and Colapinto retired later in the race.
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Formula 1 reported on October 1, 2026, that Colapinto received a 10-second time penalty, converted into a five-place grid drop for the subsequent race. The penalty was a sporting decision, not one Norris had authority over.
What Norris said after the race
In the immediate post-race media pen, Norris said “some drivers” should not be in Formula 1 and suggested Colapinto should receive a ban. He later said the comments were not a true reflection of him or what he meant.
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Speaking to media during Sepang media day, Norris said: “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.” He described what had happened in the moment; he did not present that state of mind as an excuse.
Norris’s apology and Colapinto’s response
Norris said he spoke to Colapinto on Sunday night, as soon as he could. Later in the week, he posted a public apology, saying: “I know better, and emotions were running high, but that is not an excuse; it was wrong of me.” He added that they had reached a good understanding and remained friends.
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Colapinto said the remarks had surprised him, but that Norris apologised. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. We chatted, and it’s all good,” he said. CNA reported that Norris said both drivers had apologised to each other. Colapinto’s response to the incident was also reported during the Malaysia/Sepang race-week media cycle: “So I was a bit surprised, but then of course he apologised.”
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Both drivers faced online abuse after the incident. Alpine condemned hate and abuse in a statement, while Colapinto spoke about receiving abuse and the difficulty of changing the broader situation. He said it came from multiple fanbases; the available reporting does not establish that every abusive message came from one group or that either driver caused or controlled fans’ actions.
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