A late brake, a three-car wreck
Franco Colapinto will start Formula 1's next race five grid positions lower than he qualifies, after stewards confirmed a penalty for the chain-reaction crash he caused during Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The Alpine driver locked his brakes at Turn 1 on the restart following a safety car on lap 36 of 51, arriving too fast to make the corner. He speared into teammate Pierre Gasly, who was launched into Lando Norris's McLaren. All three cars were retired on the spot.
Stewards initially handed Colapinto the standard 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, ruling he was "wholly or predominantly to blame." Because he had already retired and could not serve the penalty on track, it was converted under FIA rules into a five-place grid drop for the next race he starts.
Contrition from Colapinto, fury from Briatore
Colapinto did not dispute the stewards' verdict. "Just a big sorry to all of them, to the factory, to Pierre of course," he said. "I took him out, so I'm really disappointed." Gasly, who had been running in the points before the collision, offered a more resigned response: "We were both in a position to score points. Honestly, I have no idea how to answer your question."
Norris was blunter in the immediate aftermath, saying he had been "taken out" by "some drivers that shouldn't be in F1." Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore did not shield his own driver from criticism, calling the move "a very poor move for a driver with his experience" and apologising separately to Norris and McLaren. Briatore said Colapinto "has taken full responsibility for his mistake, as he should," while adding that he wanted time "to reflect on the whole thing and consider what measures need to be taken."
Next stop: a Bahrain race held in Malaysia
The penalty lands at an unusual venue. What is officially still called the Bahrain Grand Prix will be run from October 2-4 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, under an agreement between Formula 1, the FIA, and the Bahraini and Malaysian governments. Bahrain's original date was cancelled earlier in the year amid the regional disruption caused by the 2026 Iran war, but the country retains ticketing rights and race proceeds under the relocation deal, with the event billed as the "Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia."
For Alpine, the timing could hardly be worse: all three of the team's cars failed to finish in Baku, wiping out a points haul that had been within reach for both Colapinto and Gasly. Colapinto's grid drop in Sepang now adds a sporting cost to a weekend Briatore has already labelled a costly missed opportunity in the constructors' fight.