Lando Norris was taken out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by an overly enthusiastic Franco Colapinto and subsequently had harsh words for the Argentinian.
"There are some drivers who simply shouldn't be in Formula 1," fumed the reigning world champion, demanding at least a race ban for the Alpine driver.
A statement for which the McLaren driver has had to face considerable criticism from Argentinian fans on social media. Among them, a rather prominent figure: Pablo Quirno, Foreign Minister of the South American country.
"Surely Lando Norris demanded a penalty for the driver who bumped Oscar Piastri in Montreal 2025. Oh wait, that's not right..." the politician writes, alluding to the McLaren collision at the time, caused by Norris.
Alpine Team Principal Sees "Weak Move" from Colapinto
However, the Brit receives support from a man with more influence over Colapinto: Alpine Team Principal Flavio Briatore. After all, teammate Pierre Gasly was also among those affected.
"Franco has taken full responsibility, as he should. Given the race situation and the restart, he braked far too late. It was a weak move for a driver with his experience," the Italian strongly criticised his own driver.
Team-internal consequences are also not ruled out: "I will take time to consider what measures may be needed so that we can learn from this and avoid such situations in the future."
Colapinto has already received a penalty from Formula 1 and must start the next race five grid positions further back.
