Lando Norris wants ban for 'driver that shouldn't be in F1' Franco Colapinto

Lando Norris says Franco Colapinto should get “a one-race ban” after taking him out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix because “that’s not driving that deserves to be in Formula 1”.

The reigning world champion dropped down the order after making an early mistake under braking for Turn 1, which put him behind the Alpines.

At the safety car restart following a crash for Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto locked up at the first corner and slammed into Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Lando Norris was on the outside line and had nowhere to go, with the resulting contact taking the McLaren driver out on the spot.

“Drivers that shouldn’t be in Formula 1”

Speaking to the media afterwards, Norris tore into Colapinto.

“I was just slow. Just struggling a lot in the straights; you saw how quickly everyone came past me,” he told F1 TV.

“So, just an impossible race for me from that side and straightline speed today.

“So, hopefully they’ll get that fixed for next time.

“But, otherwise I still made the mistake. And, at the end of the day, I still got taken out - just some drivers that shouldn’t be in Formula 1, to be honest.”

When talking to the written press afterwards, Norris called for Colapinto to be banned, while lamenting that his upgraded car parts “are in the bin now”.

“I think the FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff,” Norris fumed.

“It’s just careless from people. Costs a lot of money.

“All my parts are in the bin now, so yeah, people should just get banned because that’s not driving that deserves to be in Formula 1.

“I’ve not seen it, but I mean if you cause a crash on a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban.”

This latest Colapinto controversy comes just days after Alpine team-mate Gasly revealed he and his family have received online abuse from Argentinian fans following the Spanish Grand Prix.

Alpine chief, Flavio Briatore, threatened a media blackout for Colapinto and the Argentinian press if the social media abuse didn’t stop.

The FIA stewards gave Colapinto a 10-second time penalty after the race, though he didn’t reach the chequered flag.

The stewards may elect to convert that to a penalty for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.