Baku: McLaren's Lando Norris said some drivers “shouldn't be in Formula 1” after Franco Colapinto triggered a multi-car collision that eliminated the defending world champion from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.

Colapinto misjudged his braking point at the opening corner during a safety car restart, striking his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, whose car was propelled into Norris and forced the Briton into the barriers.

In the ensuing avoidance maneuvers, Arvid Lindblad made contact with his Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson, sending him into a spin.

“I just got taken out,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports. “There's just some drivers that shouldn't be in Formula 1, to be honest.”

Colapinto described the incident as a “big mistake” and offered a “big sorry to both of them," referring to Gasly and Norris.

The retirement leaves Norris trailing championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 116 points, delivering a severe blow to a title defence already under pressure following Antonelli's recent victories in Italy and Spain.

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Stewards handed Colapinto a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. As he failed to finish the race, the sanction is expected to be converted into a grid penalty for the upcoming round in Malaysia, designated as the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Grand Prix winner George Russell and runner-up Max Verstappen expressed opposition to suggestions that Colapinto should face a race suspension for the error.

“I think safety-car restarts, cold tyres, a very small mistake can have big consequences. From what I saw today, that’s what it looked like,” Russell said. “I think, personally, race bans should come from drivers intentionally doing something very dangerous and very reckless. I think it was unfortunate.”

Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore issued an apology to Norris and McLaren, describing himself as “extremely disappointed” by the outcome of the race for his team.

“It was a very poor move for a driver of his experience,” Briatore said. "I want to take time to reflect on it and consider what course of action should be taken, so we can learn from it and avoid such a situation in future.”

The incident represents the latest controversy involving Colapinto, following repeated instances of online abuse directed at rival drivers and race stewards by fans supporting the Argentine driver.

AP