Lando Norris subjected to online abuse after calling for Franco Colapinto ban
Reigning world champion Lando Norris has been subjected to a torrent of online abuse after calling on Formula One to hand Franco Colapinto a ban for the three-car pile-up at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix; Colapinto's Alpine team has condemned the abuse in a statement to the Press Association.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris has been subjected to a torrent of online abuse after calling on Formula One to hand Franco Colapinto a race ban for triggering the three-car pile-up that ended his Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.
Colapinto, driving for Alpine, locked up approaching turn one on a safety-car restart and speared into his teammate Pierre Gasly, who in turn shunted Norris’s McLaren. All three retired; Norris had been running eighth.
After the race Norris told reporters in Baku: “I just got taken out. There are some drivers who shouldn’t be in Formula One.” He added: “If you cause a crash on a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban. The FIA should be stricter by starting to hand out bans for this kind of stuff. It is just careless.”
The stewards did not impose a ban. Colapinto accepted fault for the collision — “I can be sorry to everyone. It’s been a big mistake of course. I just locked-up and then I was very out of control” — and will serve a five-place grid penalty at the next round.
The Press Association reported on Sunday that Norris’s comments had provoked a bombardment of online hate across his social media channels, largely from supporters of Colapinto. Colapinto’s Alpine team issued a statement condemning the abuse: “Mistakes happen when racing at the limit and no matter the result or outcome, nobody should be subject to hateful or abusive comments.” The team said it stood in solidarity with Formula One, the FIA and other teams in wanting to stamp it out, adding: “It has become a regular occurrence in recent races and cannot be condoned.”
Norris’s retirement leaves him 116 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the championship standings, with his title defence all but over. George Russell’s victory — his third of the season — cut Antonelli’s lead to 66 points with 208 still available across the remaining eight rounds.
Sources
More on this topic: all Sport stories