McLaren Racing driver Lando Norris issued a public apology on Monday to Argentine racer Franco Colapinto after suggesting he should get a “race ban” for their crash in the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix on Saturday.

“I sent Franco a message apologizing for the comments I made that I simply should not have said,” Norris wrote on an Instagram story. “I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me.”

The defending F1 drivers’ champion went on to admit he’s “made mistakes of his own,” which is “part of racing,” and insisted Colapinto and he “came to a good understanding” and “are still good friends.”

Norris had come out hard against Colapinto after a collision caused by the Argentine racer eliminated both of them, as well as Pierre Gasly, the other Alpine F1 driver. 

The Brit claimed there are “some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1” and suggested those who take out other cars like Colapinto should see race bans as a sanction for the mistake.

Norris’s comments earned him the ire of the Argentine fans, who took to his and McLaren’s Instagram accounts to remind him of instances when he had similar incidents to that of Colapinto.

The controversy even had Argentine........

© Buenos Aires Herald