Colapinto gets five-place penalty after Azerbaijan collision

Franco Colapinto received a five-place grid penalty for the next race in which he competes after stewards found him wholly or predominantly responsible for a collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that ended the races of Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris. The sanction follows a 10-second time penalty that Colapinto could not serve because he had retired from the event. The collision occurred at Turn 1 during a restart behind the safety car. In their decision, stewards said Colapinto braked too late and entered the corner at a speed that prevented him from negotiating it in a controlled manner. His car made contact with Gasly’s Alpine, which then struck Norris’s McLaren. All three drivers retired. The stewards applied the standard 10-second penalty for causing a collision. Because Colapinto was unable to serve it after retiring, they converted it to a five-place drop on the grid at the next race in which he participates. The reports anticipated that this would be the Bahrain Grand Prix, but also gave conflicting venue references, including Malaysia and Sepang.