{"id":3137,"date":"2026-10-01T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3137"},"modified":"2026-10-01T07:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:09:23","slug":"colapinto-calls-verstappen-a-hero-to-young-drivers-after-baku-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/colapinto-calls-verstappen-a-hero-to-young-drivers-after-baku-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Colapinto calls Verstappen a &#8220;hero to young drivers&#8221; after Baku support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Colapinto thanked Verstappen for supporting him after the accident involving Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris in Baku.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Argentine compared Verstappen\u2019s response with his handling of Kimi Antonelli\u2019s mistake in Austria in 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Norris has apologised for requesting a race ban; Colapinto will serve a five-place grid penalty at Sepang.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Franco Colapinto has thanked Max Verstappen for defending him after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix accident that eliminated Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris. The Argentine said Verstappen\u2019s response demonstrated an understanding of the mistakes young drivers can make in <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris initially called for Colapinto to receive a one-race suspension following the collision at the first Safety Car restart in Baku. Verstappen and George Russell considered that punishment excessive, with the Red Bull driver acknowledging the consequences of the accident while treating it as a racing mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked in Sepang before the preparation for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, Colapinto praised the four-time world champion\u2019s standing among younger competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery young driver looks up to him; he is a hero to many,\u201d Colapinto said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Alpine driver explained that Verstappen\u2019s experience helps him recognise situations in which an error can have consequences far greater than the mistake itself. Colapinto also found some humour in the agreement between Verstappen and Russell, whose relationship has frequently been marked by disagreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLando\u2019s comment finally made George and Max agree with each other for once,\u201d Colapinto joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Colapinto recalls Verstappen\u2019s response to Antonelli<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Colapinto drew a comparison with the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, when Antonelli made a braking error and collided with Verstappen. The Mercedes rookie apologised, and Verstappen accepted his explanation without demanding a harsher punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Colapinto, that response illustrated how Verstappen\u2019s own experience of making mistakes influences his treatment of less experienced drivers. He praised the Dutchman for showing sporting understanding towards Antonelli despite the cost of the retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMax has always been very supportive of young drivers because he has made mistakes himself,\u201d Colapinto said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Colapinto also suggested that the Austria accident might have affected Verstappen\u2019s championship outcome. That was the Argentine\u2019s assessment of the points lost, rather than a definitive explanation of the title result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His comparison concerned the reaction to an error, rather than a claim that the two collisions were identical. In Baku, Colapinto locked his brakes approaching Turn 1 after the Safety Car restart, struck Gasly and triggered the contact that also eliminated Norris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"F1 2026, AZERBAIJ\u00c3O, TREINOS LIVRES, ALPINE, FRANCO COLAPINTO\" class=\"wp-image-1020315926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-azerbaijao-teinos-livres-alpine-franco-colapinto-02-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Franco Colapinto (Foto: Alexander Seregin\/ASPPA Images Europe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Norris has apologised for requesting a suspension<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris subsequently withdrew his demand and contacted Colapinto privately. In his public explanation, the McLaren driver acknowledged that he should not have made the comments and that frustration did not excuse them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said,\u201d Norris wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As detailed in <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/norris-apologises-to-colapinto-and-withdraws-call-for-race-ban-after-baku-crash\/\">Norris\u2019s apology to Colapinto after the Baku crash<\/a>, the two drivers reached an understanding and remained on good terms. The apology addressed Norris\u2019s remarks rather than the sporting penalty imposed on the Alpine driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stewards found Colapinto responsible for causing the collision and handed him a ten-second penalty. Because he retired without serving it, the sanction became a five-place grid drop for the next event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Colapinto will therefore race at Sepang with that penalty, rather than a suspension. The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia takes place from 2\u20134 October, with practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will cover the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who was fastest in Bahrain GP practice at Sepang?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Max Verstappen topped FP1 with a 1:37.520<\/strong>, beating George Russell by 0.383 seconds. Isack Hadjar finished third, ahead of Charles Leclerc and championship leader Kimi Antonelli. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/latest\/article\/fp1-verstappen-leads-russell-and-hadjar-during-first-practice-at-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia.1uVl0K8NpL3uVim3eUa1Px?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"> <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time does F1 FP2 start in Malaysia?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FP2 starts on <strong>Friday, 2 October, at 16:00 in Malaysia<\/strong>. That is <strong>09:00 BST in the UK, 04:00 EDT in New York and Toronto, 01:00 PDT in Los Angeles and Vancouver, 13:30 IST in India and 18:00 AEST in Sydney and Melbourne<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is the Bahrain Grand Prix being held in Malaysia?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The original race at Sakhir was cancelled because of the conflict in the Middle East. <strong>Sepang is hosting the replacement event while retaining the Bahrain Grand Prix name<\/strong>, bringing Formula 1 back to the Malaysian circuit for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why did Colapinto thank Verstappen?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Colapinto thanked Verstappen for supporting him after the Baku collision and opposing the suggestion that he should receive a one-race suspension.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Franco Colapinto praises Max Verstappen\u2019s treatment of young drivers after the four-time champion opposed calls for his suspension following the Azerbaijan GP collision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020314251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Franco Colapinto","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Alpine","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":31,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[202,255,117,64],"42wp_author":[31],"class_list":["post-3137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-alpine","tag-franco-colapinto","tag-lando-norris","tag-max-verstappen","42wp_author-bernardo-castro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3138,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3137\/revisions\/3138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020314251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3137"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}