Alpine issue statement condemning online abuse after Colapinto-Norris crash

At Turn 1 of the Baku City Circuit, upon a Safety Car restart, Colapinto locked up after a big lunge on the inside, crashing into Gasly, who in turn knocked Norris out of the race on Saturday. Colapinto was handed a 10-second time penalty for the incident, which will become a five-place grid penalty for the next race weekend in Malaysia.

McLaren's Norris reacted strongly to the collision, calling for a race ban for the Argentine, whose driving, according to the reigning world champion, "does not deserve to be in F1." Norris said: "I think the FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff. It's just careless when people cost a lot of money. All my parts are in the bin now.

In the wake of the Turn 1 incident, and Norris' post-race comments, Alpine have issued a statement, in which they have "strongly condemned" the reaction of some fans online, against not only one of their own drivers but other members of the F1 community, including media, and racing counterparts.

In a lengthy statement, Alpine have said: "As a team, we feel it's necessary to speak out once more about the hate and abuse online following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Not only aimed at one of our own drivers, but also members of the Formula One community, including media, and to our racing counterparts who we respect, admire, and revel competing against in the pinnacle of motorsport. Mistakes happen when racing at the limit and no matter the result or outcome, nobody should be subject to hateful or abusive comments.