Franco Colapinto should be penalized for one race, said Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris, after he was hit by the Alpine racer at a restart behind the safety car in Baku. The McLaren driver was eliminated and remains 116 points behind the leader in the standings Andrea Kimi Antonelli, BTA reported.
"If you cause a crash at a restart like this, you should be penalized for at least one race", Norris said, quoted by DPA.
"The FIA should be stricter with imposing penalties for such things. Such actions are simply the result of a lack of attention. They cost money, and all my parts are already in the trash. This is not a driving style that should exist in Formula 1. Here, drivers have to expect low grip at low tyre temperatures. You can't want to drive with the best and have accidents like this," the world champion continued.
Colapinto will indeed be penalised for the next round, but not with a complete absence, but most likely with a loss of six grid positions. He was penalised with 10 seconds for the crash with Norris and he didn't suffer them in Azerbaijan, so this will happen in eight days in Malaysia.
Asked about Norris' appeal, winner George Russell said: "This is too big a penalty. At a restart behind the safety car, the tyres are still cold and every little mistake has serious consequences. We saw that today. Race-wide penalties should be imposed on drivers who deliberately do something extremely dangerous".