George Russell and Max Verstappen defend Franco Colapinto's race incident

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto triggered a collision involving Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris. The incident occurred during a lap 36 restart, resulting in both Gasly and Norris being eliminated from the race. While Norris criticized Colapinto's actions, suggesting a possible race ban, Russell and Verstappen argued that the mistake was not intentional and a ban would be excessive. The FIA race stewards imposed a 10-second penalty on Colapinto, converted to a five-place grid drop for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix. Colapinto expressed regret over the incident, which drew strong reactions from affected teams.

• 9:12 AMYahoo Sports — Race ban talk "too harsh" on Franco Colapinto, George Russell and Max Verstappen say