Stella warns Colapinto: Briatore punishment could be ‘harsher’ than FIA’s
Photo: Race Pictures
17:01, 27 Sep
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella joked that Alpine's Franco Colapinto might have to worry more about the reaction of executive advisor Flavio Briatore than any penalty from the FIA following the Argentine's crash with Lando Norris at the Azerbaijan GP.
The incident in question, taking place after a Safety Car restart on Lap 36 in Baku, saw Colapinto suffer a big lock-up down the inside of Turn 1, wiping out both Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren's Norris with 15 laps to go.
The Alpine driver was given a 10-second penalty for the collision, but since he did not finish the race in Baku, that penalty will be converted into a five-place grid drop at the next F1 race at Sepang, Malaysia.
Speaking in an Alpine review of the Azerbaijan GP, Briatore - never one to mix his words - said Colapinto had made a "very poor move" and teased a further "course of action" to avoid similar incidents in the future.
And according to McLaren boss Stella, that may well be more worrisome for Colapinto than the punishment he has received from the FIA.
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Stella: Briatore could be 'harsher' than FIA on Colapinto
Photo: Race Pictures
Speaking to media, including GPblog, prior to the stewards' verdict on Colapinto's move had been revealed, the Italian said: "It's a complex matter. I guess this is being reviewed by the stewards as we speak, pretty much. I'm sure it will be reviewed by Flavio as well. I'm not sure which one is going to be harsher for whoever caused the problem."
Reflecting further on the incident, Stella said he would trust the stewards' decision, but also that drivers should "apply a certain degree of common sense" when negotiating a circuit like Baku, particularly the usual overtaking zone at Turn 1.
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Stella added: "I think, independently of the dissuasion that you can have because of the penalty, I think when you drive in Formula 1 and you are approaching Turn 1 in Baku and you have seen so many videos of the past, you just should be capitalising on this experience that you should be having as a Formula 1 driver. The consequence in this case, which I'm sure, is a shame for Alpine for both drivers, and there's a penalty for other drivers.
"Definitely the penalty should take into account that there are some circuits in which you have to use extra prudency, and there's a full history of problems that happened like this, especially in a street circuit where there's no way to use the runoff area to somehow mitigate the consequences of somebody running onto you.
"We trust the stewards, their approach, but above all, we should trust the drivers that they apply a certain degree of just common sense I would say while driving."
Alpine issue statement after Norris abuse
Norris himself 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." This, unfortunately, was met with a wave of online abuse towards the reigning world champion.
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In the wake of the crash and Norris' post-race comments, Alpine released a statement on Sunday afternoon, in which they "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.
"Condemning abuse on social media is not aimed at any one fan base or the supporters of one team or driver, this is universal and should be called out and recognised to all fans of the sport," the statement read.
"As we have said in previous instances, we strongly condemn the reaction of some fans online and stand in solidarity with Formula One, the FIA, and other teams in wanting to stamp it out. It has become a regular occurrence in recent races and cannot be condoned."
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