Lando Norris latest online abuse victim after Franco Colapinto 'race ban' comment

Lando Norris has become the subject of a wave of online abuse after calling for Franco Colapinto to be handed a race ban following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver's race in Baku ended on lap 35 when Colapinto, restarting on cold tyres behind the safety car, locked up heavily into Turn 1, collecting Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly before also taking out Norris on the outside line. All three cars were eliminated on the spot, with stewards subsequently handing Colapinto a 10-second penalty he never got to serve.

Norris reacted by saying the FIA needed tougher disciplinary standards, arguing that at least a one-race ban should follow avoidable multi-car pileups caused on safety car restarts, and suggesting some drivers simply should not be in Formula 1.

Those comments have since drawn a furious response from Colapinto's fanbase on social media platform X, with numerous posts targeting Norris using explicit and homophobic language, alongside a flood of LGBTQ+ flag emojis. 

"Lando Norris can suck my dick real good," read one post. "Until today Franco was the only driver who had completed all the races of the year and now because of one mistake he doesn't deserve to be in Formula 1?"

Some accounts pointed to Norris's own record, referencing his collision with Oscar Piastri at last year's Canadian Grand Prix and the wheel-banging incident with his team-mate in Singapore, both of which drew penalties or internal sanction from McLaren.

"Lando Norris can go fuck himself," another message read. "So, how many bans should he have received for Singapore and Canada just last year?"

The abuse has extended beyond X, with Argentine fans also posting hostile comments on a Norris Instagram upload from 17 September.

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Franco Colapinto request fails to change online abuse volume

The backlash comes despite Colapinto himself repeatedly urging his supporters to stop sending online abuse. 

Ahead of the Baku weekend, the Argentine had already asked fans to show restraint, stressing his close working relationship with Gasly at Alpine and insisting hostility towards team-mates or rivals has no place in the sport.

Colapinto's fanbase has been linked to abuse aimed at several other drivers since his F1 debut, including Yuki Tsunoda after an Imola practice incident in 2025, and Jack Doohan, who received death threats when he lost his Alpine seat to Colapinto. 

Gasly and his family were also targeted following strategy tension at this year's Spanish Grand Prix.

Not everyone has piled on Norris, however. Several fans have defended the Briton, pointing out that he remains a world champion and race winner who, like every driver on the grid, is entitled to voice frustration, especially given McLaren's struggles to hand him a competitive car through his title defence. 

"World champion, whether you like it or not," one fan wrote in support of Norris. "He’s angry, it’s a buildup of things and it’s completely understandable. His team hasn’t given him a decent car to defend his title since the very beginning of the season and now there’s this incident, which was COMPLETELY Franco’s fault, something he admitted himself.

"Stop giving him s***. You’re not doing anything but hurting Franco. You always do this and never learn, you make all of us look bad. Come on, Lando. One stumble doesn’t mean you’ve fallen"

Others argued the Baku incident was clearly Colapinto's own fault, something the Argentine had already admitted himself, and urged critics to stop directing anger at Norris over a result that cost him what would only have been a ninth-place finish.

"Lando has every right to complain," insisted another account. "Every single driver on the grid complains and calls things out. At the end of the day, he’s STILL a world champion and a race winner. He’s earned that."