Alpine Weighed Colapinto Discipline After Azerbaijan Crash
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 28, 2026
Alpine weighs action
Alpine was considering disciplinary action against Franco Colapinto after his crash with teammate Pierre Gasly in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and team managing director Flavio Briatore said he would weigh what course of action to take. Briatore called Colapinto’s move “very poor,” putting the focus on a mistake that hit the team at a damaging moment. Colapinto accepted full responsibility for the incident and apologized to Alpine, Gasly and Lando Norris. He also received a 10-second penalty that was later converted into a five-place grid penalty. The response from Alpine kept the conversation centered on accountability, with the team then weighing how to handle a driver error that carried immediate sporting consequences.
Colapinto crash fallout
The crash unfolded at the Safety Car restart at Turn 1, when Colapinto locked up and hit Gasly, sending the Alpine into Norris’ McLaren. The contact ended the race for Colapinto, Gasly and Norris, and it left Alpine with a double DNF. At the time, Gasly was running seventh and Colapinto was fighting for ninth place, so the collision came with both cars inside the points picture. Alpine said it lost valuable championship points because of the crash, a painful outcome in a race where both drivers had been positioned to score. The sequence gave the team a clear sporting hit, and it turned a fight for track position into a costly reset with nothing to show from either car.
Norris calls ban
Norris took the strongest public stance after the incident, calling for a one-race ban for Colapinto and saying some drivers should not be in Formula 1. That reaction added another layer to the fallout, with the crash drawing criticism beyond the Alpine garage and putting Colapinto under sharper scrutiny. The sequence of events left Alpine dealing with the race result, the penalty and the wider criticism at the same time. Briatore’s decision to review possible discipline now sits alongside Norris’ demand for a suspension, while Colapinto’s apology has done little to quiet the debate around the move. Alpine came away with no points, two damaged cars and a driver in the middle of a disciplinary review after one of its most damaging incidents of the season.
