The stewards considered the Argentine responsible for the multiple crash that left Gasly and Norris out of the race. Having retired, the ten-second sanction becomes a loss of five positions in the next event.
Franco Colapinto has been sanctioned with a five-place grid penalty for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the next event on the calendar. The stewards' decision follows the Argentine Alpine driver's role in multiple crashes on the first lap after the Safety Car restart at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which left his teammate Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris's McLaren out of the race.
The incident occurred on lap 36 of 51, when Colapinto was trying to recover positions after the first Safety Car restart. The Argentine arrived too deep into turn 1, braked late and entered the apex on the inside at a speed that did not allow him to control the car, went wide and hit the left side of Gasly's Alpine which in turn impacted Norris's McLaren, the three drivers were out of the race due to the damage suffered.
The official stewards' document was clear in pointing out Colapinto's responsibility: "The stewards considered that COL was wholly or predominantly to blame for the collision. Although the incident occurred at the first corner after the restart, there was no contribution from another driver that justified applying the more lenient first lap or first corner approach," read the statement. The standard sanction for causing a collision is a ten-second penalty, but since Colapinto retired from the race and could not serve it, the stewards converted it into a loss of five positions in the next event, in accordance with article B1.9.6 (e) of the FIA regulations.
Colapinto himself acknowledged his mistake and offered public apologies before learning of the sanction: "A bit of disappointment in myself, in the team. A big apology to all of them, to the factory, to Pierre, of course. I took him out of the race, so I'm very disappointed. Both of us were in a position to score points; it was a big day for the team, and I made a big mistake. A big apology; it shouldn't have happened," declared the Argentine.
Gasly, for his part, was more concise but equally forceful. "I don't think I have words, and I don't need words now; we'll handle it together as a team. Obviously, I'm very disappointed for all the guys; P7 and P10 were a very good race, good pace. Honestly, I have no idea how to answer your question; we have to move on," noted the Frenchman.
Norris, who also saw his race cut short by the incident, was the most critical: "They just took me out of the race. Some drivers shouldn't be in F1, to be honest," said the Briton, reflecting the frustration of a driver who had arrived in Baku with the hope of closing the gap in the championship.
The sanction on Colapinto is a hard blow for Alpine, which loses the opportunity to score valuable points with one of its best-placed drivers. The French team, going through a season of ups and downs, will have to wait until Malaysia to try to recover lost ground.
