Colapinto hits Norris at the Malaysian Grand Prix and receives a penalty

At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Colapinto hit Norris and was handed a penalty.

In the context of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lando Norris explained that he had followed up his private apology to Franco Colapinto with a public one after the collision that had ended his race. According to Norris, the public message was primarily aimed at a wider audience, while his essential explanation and apology were intended for Franco.

He said he did not consider social media necessary, but felt it was sensible to show that he had apologised amid the noise surrounding the matter. “I accepted that I was wrong,” he said, adding that he usually tries to acknowledge his mistakes. Because his initial remarks had been made on television, he felt it was fair to address those who had heard them too.

Colapinto said he had also apologised to Gasly and Norris for his mistake, while describing it as difficult to control negative reactions on social media, which he associates with every fan base.

Norris said some people deal with online abuse better than others. He added that sporting passion can explain part of the reaction, made more visible by social media, but that online abuse and death threats go far beyond supporting an athlete. He also called on platforms and sport to do more to stop such behaviour.

Internally, Colapinto said he did not expect consequences from Alpine and said he trusted Flavio Briatore, after Briatore had indicated that he wanted to reflect on what course of action should be taken following an error described as “very poor”. Colapinto acknowledged that moments of anger within a team can make it difficult to move forward, while maintaining that a solution is always found.

He praised Flavio Briatore as a highly experienced leader, capable of managing this kind of situation and improving the team. He said he trusted him, even though it is not ideal to be the one who made the mistake, and described a difficult situation for the team. Colapinto finally said the team reviewed everything, learned from it and was already looking ahead.