Lando Norris has explained why he felt compelled to issue a public apology to Franco Colapinto after already apologising privately to the Alpine driver for strongly criticising him over the collision that ended the Briton's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Colapinto locked up at a Safety Car restart and crashed into his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, who was then sent into Norris. All three drivers were forced to retire from the race, with Colapinto subsequently handed a five-place grid penalty for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
"It [the apology] was more for the wider audience, I would say. I said what I wanted to, to Franco, and he's the only one really that I need to share my opinion and share my apology with," said Norris. "I accepted that I was wrong. But because it was something I said on TV, I thought it was fair that I shared it with everyone."
Norris, who has previously been outspoken about online abuse, stated "some people can deal with it much better than others" and highlighted that "social media platforms and sports need to do more to stop this kind of stuff from happening."
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing