Franco Colapinto has taken full responsibility for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash that eliminated both Alpine cars and Lando Norris, apologising to Pierre Gasly, Norris and the entire Alpine team after admitting he made a serious mistake under braking at Turn 1.
The FIA stewards subsequently handed Colapinto a five-place grid penalty for the next race at Sepang, where the Bahrain Grand Prix will be held. The punishment followed an incident at the second Safety Car restart in Baku that turned a promising afternoon for Alpine into a double retirement.
Franco Colapinto takes blame for major Baku crash
Colapinto arrived at Turn 1 with too much speed after the second Safety Car restart and failed to account for how tightly the pack ahead had compressed.
The Argentine locked his front tyres and hit team-mate Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. The Frenchman was then sent into Lando Norris’s McLaren, leaving all three cars unable to continue.
It was a particularly costly incident for Alpine, because both of its drivers had been running inside the points. Instead of capitalising on a difficult weekend for Racing Bulls, the team left Baku with nothing.
Racing Bulls gained six points in their battle for fifth place, extending their advantage over Alpine to 15 points in the Constructors’ Championship.
“Yes, I made a big mistake,” Colapinto admitted. “I locked the front tyres, with the tyres and brakes still cold, and I completely lost control of the car.”
“So there isn’t much else to say other than to apologise to the team, to Pierre and to everyone at the factory. We worked hard to score some valuable points, and I threw everything away with that serious mistake. I don’t think there’s much more to add.”
Colapinto also apologises to Lando Norris
Norris was furious after being caught up in the collision. The reigning world champion called for the FIA to impose at least a one-race ban on Colapinto and was highly critical of the Alpine driver following the incident.
When asked whether such a punishment would be excessive, Colapinto acknowledged that Norris also deserved an apology.
“To be honest, I also have to apologise to Lando, not just Pierre,” Colapinto said. “I apologise to everyone: I made a big mistake. I locked the tyres at the point of maximum braking pressure and lost control of the car.”
The incident ended Norris’s race and added another difficult chapter to his Baku weekend. The latest developments involving the McLaren driver can be followed in the Lando Norris section.
Crash ends Colapinto’s run of finishing every race
The timing of the mistake was particularly painful for Colapinto. He had only recently signed a contract extension with Alpine and had been the only driver on the grid to finish every race of the season before the Baku collision.
Asked about taking his own team-mate out of the race, Colapinto admitted that was the most difficult part of the incident.
“Yes, yes, of course. It’s more than disappointing to put your team-mate out of the race. That’s probably the worst part. If I had done it all on my own, there would still be something to reflect on, but like this the incident is much worse.”
FIA gives Colapinto five-place grid penalty for Sepang
Before the stewards announced their decision, Colapinto was asked what sort of punishment he expected.
“Well, we’ll see if there is one. I expect something, obviously, but I wouldn’t know what because I’m not a steward.”
The FIA eventually imposed a five-place grid drop for Sepang.
Despite the severity of the mistake, Colapinto said Alpine had supported him immediately after the race.
“They were all very supportive of me, obviously,” he said. “I repeat, it was a serious mistake and I take full responsibility for it. It’s a hard lesson to learn and a blow to take, but I hope to continue working well ahead of the next race.”
Colapinto also confirmed that he had already spoken with Gasly after the collision.
“Yes, of course. He was very upset. And I’ll try to explain myself again…”
The five-place penalty means Colapinto’s mistake will continue to have consequences beyond Azerbaijan. After throwing away a potential double-points finish for Alpine in Baku, the Argentine will now head into Sepang already facing a compromised starting position.
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