News Summary
- Lando Norris called on the FIA to issue bans for incidents like the one that ended his race.
- He described the collision as careless and said the damage had left his car’s parts “in the bin”.
- Norris said he had not yet watched a replay when he spoke after the race.
Lando Norris called for the FIA to take a tougher approach to drivers responsible for collisions after his retirement from Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Speaking at a post-race media session attended by GRANDE PRÊMIO in Baku, the McLaren driver said bans should be considered for incidents like the Turn 1 crash that eliminated him.
“I think the FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff. It’s just careless from people,” Norris said. “It costs a lot of money, all my parts are in the bin now. People should just get banned, because that’s not driving that deserves to be in Formula 1.”
The incident happened on lap 36, at the restart following a safety car period. Franco Colapinto locked up under braking for Turn 1 and hit Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Norris was also caught in the collision, and his McLaren struck the wall. All three drivers retired; Norris got out of his car and was reported to be OK.
Colapinto accepted responsibility for his braking error over the Alpine radio. “Sorry to all the team. Sorry to Pierre. Very bad, I completely locked up,” he said. Gasly also expressed his frustration, saying: “I cannot believe it, cannot believe it. So many points gone.”
Norris said he had not yet seen a replay of the crash when he made his comments. His criticism was therefore directed at the type of incident and the standard of driving he believes the FIA should penalise, rather than a detailed assessment of the footage. The race had already been interrupted once when Alex Albon hit the barrier at Turn 5 on lap 31.
Norris had been running inside the top 10 before the collision. His teammate Oscar Piastri continued and finished 14th, while George Russell held off Max Verstappen by 0.196s to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
F1 today: FAQ
Who leads the 2026 F1 championship after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
Kimi Antonelli leads with 302 points. George Russell is second on 236, leaving a 66-point gap after Baku.
Who won the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
George Russell won for Mercedes, ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Which team leads the 2026 F1 Constructors’ Championship?
Mercedes leads with 538 points, 160 ahead of Ferrari.
What did Lando Norris say after the Azerbaijan GP crash?
Norris said the FIA should be stricter and “start handing out bans” for incidents of this kind. He called the driving careless and pointed to the damage to his McLaren.
