Norris apologizes to Colapinto after saying some drivers 'shouldn't be in Formula 1'

MONACO — McLaren’s Lando Norris says he has apologized to Franco Colapinto after stating that some drivers “shouldn’t be in Formula 1.”

Norris made the comments after Colapinto set off a multicar collision that ended the defending champion’s race in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix over the weekend.

“After the race, I sent Franco a message apologizing for the comments I made that I simply should not have said,” Norris backpedaled on his Instagram account on Monday. “I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me. I’ve made mistakes of my own over the years and I know this is very much a part of racing and fighting on the limit.”

Colapinto braked too late at the first corner as the race restarted after a safety car period, slamming into his own Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, whose car then pushed Norris’ into the barriers. As drivers reacted to avoid the crash, Arvid Lindblad pushed his teammate at Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, into a spin, too.

“I just got taken out,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports after the race. “There’s just some drivers that shouldn’t be in Formula 1, to be honest.”

Colapinto called it a “big mistake” and said a “big sorry to both of them,” referring to Gasly and Norris.

Colapinto was given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. He didn’t finish the race, so that could be converted into a grid penalty for next week’s race in Malaysia, branded as the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“Me and Franco came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend,” Norris added on Instagram.

Norris is now left 116 points off standings leader Kimi Antonelli.