The controversy left by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix still had repercussions in the paddock of the Formula 1. After the multiple crash that resulted in the retirements of Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, the Argentine driver referred to the harsh complaint from the Briton and the subsequent apology he received before getting back behind the wheel in Malaysia.
Norris had harshly questioned Colapinto's maneuver and even called for the Argentine to be suspended, considering that such an action had no place in the category. However, as days went by, the McLaren driver reached out to his colleague, apologized privately, and also publicly retracted his statement. "I think he spoke in the heat of the moment", the Argentine explained to the media, adding: "We talked and everything is fine".
Nonetheless, the Alpine driver acknowledged that Norris's words had surprised him, especially given the Briton's own history with criticism and the backlash he received from fans. "Unfortunately, he also received a lot of hate for that. It's a complicated situation with the outside world. That's why I think we need to be careful with the things we say. I understand that, in the heat of the moment, one says things like that,” he pointed out.
The support from Russell and Verstappen
After that episode, the Argentine received public support from George Russell and Max Verstappen, among other drivers. He even took the opportunity to joke about an unusual situation within the paddock: "It's nice that Lando managed to get Max and George to agree for once", he commented with laughter.
However, he then set aside the joking tone to draw a comparison with the incident that Verstappen had with Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Austria last season. "Kimi had a lock-up, just like I did. A mistake, but also with a big consequence. And Kimi went to apologize. Immediately, Max was very understanding with him", Colapinto recounted.
For the Buenos Aires native, that difference largely relates to each driver's experience. "It's simply a difference in experience between different drivers. Max has always been very understanding with the young ones. Because he also made mistakes", he stated.
In that same vein, the Alpine driver highlighted the figure of the four-time world champion: "He is someone that all young drivers would look up to. And he is a hero for many".
When Colapinto returns to racing
After his unfortunate participation in Azerbaijan, the Argentine will seek to recover next weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Due to the current geopolitical tension in the Middle East, Formula 1 decided that instead of taking place at the Sakhir circuit, the action will move to the Sepang circuit, Malaysia, although the competition will retain its original name due to the commercial agreements the category has with the Bahraini government. The activities will kick off on Friday, October 2 with the first free practices and will conclude on Sunday, October 4 with the main race.
