Several Formula 1 drivers have weighed in on the controversial Safety Car restart incident after Lando Norris shared his frustrations following the race.
F1 headed to the streets of Baku for the highly anticipated Azerbaijan Grand Prix. A race that is no stranger to chaos, it delivered once more with a dramatic restart that prematurely ended the race for several drivers.
Alpine’s Franco Colapinto found himself at the centre of the incident, locking up on the run down to Turn 1. The Argentine’s mistake proved costly as it sent several cars into a chain reaction and forced him, Pierre Gasly and Norris out of the race, ultimately triggering a wave of criticism from his rivals, most notably the reigning World Champion Norris.
Speaking out of frustration after his DNF, the 26-year-old vented to the media, calling on the FIA to have a stricter approach to drivers who cause crashes during Safety Car restarts.
“The FIA should be stricter by starting to hand out bans for this kind of stuff,” Norris told media following the race.
Norris doubled down on his criticism, claiming aggressive manoeuvres such as Colapinto’s have no place in the sport.
“I just got taken out. There are some drivers who shouldn’t be in Formula 1.”
Following the race, the FIA confirmed Colapinto would carry over a five-place grid penalty into the next Grand Prix. As a result of not serving the 10-second time penalty imposed during the race.
F1 stars disagree with Norris’ call for a ban
However, Norris appeared to be alone in his call for a harsher penalty. Following the race, the podium sitters were asked for their perspectives on the incident, as well as their rivals’ comments. The trio argued that the incident was a small mistake rather than purposefully reckless driving.
Race winner George Russell stressed how difficult it can be for drivers to manage their cars during a restart. The Briton explained that on cold tyres and with limited grip, a mistake that is small can have major implications.
“I think Safety Car restarts, cold tyres, a very small mistake can have big consequences,” Russell explained. “It was a small error that had a big consequence.”
Max Verstappen shared a similar view, suggesting that the circumstances of the incident should be taken into account.
“A small mistake or misjudgment, you lock up, it’s on the inside, low grip.”
The four-time World Champion also stressed the importance of taking responsibility, suggesting an apology should carry more weight when an incident is clearly unintentional.
“I think as long as, of course, the driver who caused it is aware of what he did, right, and apologised… A race ban probably is a bit much,” the Dutchman explained.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar also pointed towards the Baku circuit, highlighting the difficulty of generating tyre temperature while following the Safety Car.
“It’s hard to generate temperature behind the Safety Car; it’s going quite slowly.
So then, yeah, you just overdo it, and then it has big, big consequences. I think a race ban is way too harsh.”
Norris’ comments appeared harsh compared to those of his fellow drivers. However, with emotions running high, his call for a race ban may have simply reflected the frustration of the moment.
READ MORE –Lando Norris makes major FIA demand after ‘careless’ Franco Colapinto collision
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