Lando Norris has aplogised to Franco Colapinto for his post-race comments following a crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended both drivers’ races. The incident took place during the first Safety Car restart in Baku, where Colapinto locked up while approaching Turn 1 and collided with his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. The impact of the collision sent Gasly into Norris’ McLaren, forcing all three drivers to retire from race.
Colapinto received a 10-second penalty during the race, but he was already retired, this has been converted into a five-place grid drop which he will serve at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia this weekend. Speaking immediately after the incident, Norris said, “there are some drivers who shouldn’t be in Formula 1” and called for one-race bans for the initiator.
Lando Norris apologises to Franco Colapinto, reveals on Instagram Story
On Monday morning, Norris revealed that he had sent a message to Colapinto while admitting that his reaction was driven by the emotions of the moment. In a message posted on Instagram, he revealed that he had contacted the racer for an apology.
“After the race, I sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said,” Norris wrote. “I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me.”
“I’ve made mistakes of my own over the years and I know this is very much a part of racing and fighting on the limit. Me and Franco came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend,” he added.
