Juan Pablo Montoya has defended Franco Colapinto’s aggressive approach following the controversial Azerbaijan Grand Prix collision that eliminated Pierre Gasly and reigning World Champion Lando Norris. While the former Formula 1 driver accepts that Colapinto made a mistake at the Safety Car restart in Baku, he believes there is also something to admire in a driver who is willing to attack when an opportunity appears.
Franco Colapinto was heavily criticised after running deep into Turn 1 at the restart and hitting Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, triggering an accident that also involved Lando Norris. The incident became one of the biggest talking points of the Baku weekend and has left Colapinto facing a five-place grid penalty at Sepang.
Franco Colapinto’s Baku crash sparks controversy
The accident happened at the first corner following the Safety Car restart. Franco Colapinto attempted to make progress but went too deep under braking, hitting Pierre Gasly and creating a chain reaction that also eliminated Lando Norris.
Norris was initially furious about what had happened and called for Colapinto to be disqualified before later apologising to the Argentine driver. Flavio Briatore also reflected on possible measures that Alpine could take following the costly mistake.
Colapinto was subsequently handed a five-place grid penalty, which he will serve this weekend at Sepang. Few figures in the Formula 1 paddock publicly defended the Argentine after the incident, but Juan Pablo Montoya offered a more sympathetic interpretation of what happened.
Juan Pablo Montoya defends Colapinto’s aggressive mentality
Speaking to F1TV, Juan Pablo Montoya explained that the dynamics of a restart can make judging the braking point particularly difficult when a driver is further back in the field and cars begin bunching together.
“I think he expected everyone to brake quite late. The problem is that when you’re that far back, you get a sort of traffic jam. Everyone keeps braking and slowing down; then you see that he brakes and risks running into someone. So he moves to the inside, but he almost brings the car to a stop.”
Montoya did not attempt to absolve Colapinto of responsibility for the collision, acknowledging that the Alpine driver had misjudged the situation.
“He made a mistake, he hit his team-mate and he took Lando out as well. He got it wrong, but he was really close.”
Montoya compares Colapinto mentality to Max Verstappen
What Montoya appreciated was the instinct behind the move. The Colombian believes aggressive drivers naturally look for opportunities at moments such as Safety Car restarts rather than concentrating primarily on defending their current position.
“The difficulty is that you’re aggressive, you see an opportunity and I admire people who try. At the restart, they see an opportunity. Some people think, ‘I don’t want to lose positions’, while Franco is the type of driver who wants to go and take it.”
Montoya then drew a comparison with Max Verstappen, not over the outcome of the incident but over the mentality of drivers who constantly search for openings on track.
“When you’re one of those drivers who, like Max Verstappen, always see an opportunity to take, it’s inevitable that you’re going to make mistakes.”
Montoya’s assessment does not change the consequences for Colapinto. The Argentine will carry his five-place grid penalty into Sepang after an accident that cost Alpine a significant opportunity in Baku and ended Norris’s race.
What it does provide is a different interpretation of the mentality behind the mistake. For Montoya, Colapinto crossed the limit and got the move wrong, but the instinct to attack rather than remain passive is still a characteristic he values in a Formula 1 driver.
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