Lando Norris says some drivers 'shouldn't be in F1' after Colapinto sets off multi-car crash
· Yahoo Sports
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — McLaren's Lando Norris said some drivers “shouldn't be in Formula 1” after Franco Colapinto set off a multi-car collision that ended the defending champion's race in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.
Colapinto braked too late at the first corner as the race restarted after a safety car period, slamming into his own Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, whose car then pushed Norris' into the barriers.
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As drivers reacted to avoid the crash, Arvid Lindblad pushed his teammate at Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, into a spin, too.
“I just got taken out,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports. “There's just some drivers that shouldn't be in Formula 1, to be honest.”
Colapinto called it a “big mistake” and said a “big sorry to both of them," referring to Gasly and Norris.
Norris is now left 116 points off standings leader Kimi Antonelli, one more heavy blow to a title defense that was already floundering following the Italian's wins in Italy and Spain in recent weeks.
Colapinto was given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. He didn't finish the race so that could be converted into a grid penalty for next week's race in Malaysia, branded as the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Race winner George Russell and second-place Max Verstappen disagreed that Colapinto deserved a suspension for his mistake.
“I think safety-car restarts, cold tires, a very small mistake can have big consequences. From what I saw today, that’s what it looked like,” Russell said. “I think, personally, race bans should come from drivers intentionally doing something very dangerous and very reckless. I think it was unfortunate.”
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