Alpine have condemned social media abuse of Lando Norris in the wake of an incident at the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Norris was spun out by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on a safety car restart on lap 36 after the latter was clattered into by teammate – Franco Colapinto who had locked up his brakes into Turn One, which saw the trio all retire due to damage and Colapinto was handed a five-place grid penalty for the Bahrain GP.
The reigning world champion subsequently post-race called for a race ban for Colapinto due to the Argentinian’s reckless move, which prompted Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pablo Quirno on X to mock Norris for his comment with a photo of the Brit’s collision with Oscar Piastri at 2025 Canadian GP.
Seguro que Lando Norris pidió sanción para el piloto que chocó a Oscar Piastri en Montreal 2025.
Ah, no…cierto. pic.twitter.com/fiTYyTccn7
— Pablo Quirno (@pabloquirno) September 26, 2026
Quirno’s post only amplified divisions on social media about the incident and prompted Alpine to release a statement to call out “the hate and abuse” on social media platforms.
“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.
“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.”
Alpine added that the behaviours can never be condoned and have vowed to continue working with F1, FIA and rival constructors to stamp out the negative behaviour.
“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.
“We know as a proud participant and stakeholder in the sport, we hold a responsibility to speak out and also help support in finding a solution.
“We will continue to work closely with the Championship promoter and rights-holder and the governing body to discuss ways in which to tackle online abuse and encourage healthy sporting rivalry, which Formula One is renowned for and what makes it so special.”
Team statement. pic.twitter.com/3c98AVOd7Z
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) September 27, 2026
Leave a Reply