Colapinto handed five-place grid drop for Sepang over Baku collision
Alpine's Franco Colapinto has been given a five-place grid penalty for this week's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held at Sepang, after causing a collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. FIA stewards ruled Colapinto was 'wholly or predominantly to blame' for the incident. Since it also took Lando Norris out of the race, the penalty directly shapes this weekend's grid.
How it happened
According to Formula1.com and Autosport, the incident occurred on lap 36 of 51 in Baku, at Turn 1 immediately after the first Safety Car restart. Trying to make up ground, Colapinto went too deep on the inside, braked too late to make the corner in a controlled manner, and hit the left-hand side of teammate Pierre Gasly's car. That contact sent Gasly into Lando Norris's McLaren, ending both cars' races on the spot.
The penalty
Stewards initially handed out a 10-second time penalty, but since Colapinto retired from the race and couldn't serve it, it was converted into a five-place grid drop for his next race. That race is the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held at Sepang International Circuit on 4 October, where Colapinto will start five places behind his qualifying position.
Fallout
Autosport reports that Norris was furious in the immediate aftermath and called for Colapinto to be banned from racing, though that reaction came before he had seen a replay of the incident. Alpine condemned online abuse directed at Colapinto after the crash, and team principal Flavio Briatore is reported to have described the move as 'a really poor move.'
