Franco Colapinto handed five-place grid penalty after Baku restart crash with Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris

Franco Colapinto has received a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming race following a multi-car collision during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

Franco Colapinto involved in incident during Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The incident unfolded during a Safety Car restart on Lap 36 of 51 at the Baku City Circuit. Colapinto attempted an aggressive move down the inside heading into Turn 1, braking too late and overshooting the apex. He collided with the left side of his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, which subsequently triggered contact with McLaren driver Lando Norris. All three drivers suffered terminal damage or race-ending consequences as a result of the clash.

Stewards Rule Colapinto Wholly at Fault

After reviewing onboard video footage and telemetry, the FIA race stewards determined that Colapinto was predominantly to blame for triggering the crash.

"COL braked too late and entered the corner on the inside at a speed which did not allow him to make the corner in a controlled manner," the stewards noted in their official verdict. "He overshot the corner and made contact with the left-hand side of GAS, who then hit NOR and both cars retired."

The stewards added: "The standard penalty for causing a collision is a 10-second time penalty. As COL had retired from the race and was therefore unable to serve the time penalty, the stewards converted the penalty to a drop of five grid positions at the next race in which the driver participates, in accordance with Article B1.9.6.(e) of the FIA 2026 F1 Regulations."

Reactions from the Drivers

Speaking after the race, Colapinto was quick to take full responsibility and issued an apology to his team and rivals.

"Just a bit of disappointment, for myself, for the team," Colapinto said. "Just a big sorry to all of them, to the factory, to Pierre of course. I took him out, so I'm really disappointed. We were both in a position to score points, it was a big day for the team and I did a big mistake. A big sorry, it shouldn't happen."

Gasly expressed his frustration after seeing potential double-points for Alpine slip away: "I don’t think I really have words and I don’t need the words now. We’ll manage it together as a team. I’m obviously very disappointed for all the guys, P7 and P10 was a very good race, good pace. We’ve got to move on."

Norris was unsparing in his assessment of the crash, saying: "I just got taken out… just some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1, to be honest."