F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Montoya compares Colapinto’s Baku restart approach with Verstappen’s

Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto’s willingness to attack at the Baku restart, but accepts Colapinto made a mistake in a collision that ended three drivers’ races.

GPBeat · Newsroom05 Oct 2026, 23:46 · 1 min

Colapinto hit Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly at the restart in Baku, and Gasly then struck McLaren’s Lando Norris. All three retired. Colapinto acknowledged his mistake and apologised.

Montoya, a former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver, discussed the collision on F1 TV. RacingNews365 presents his comments as a defence of Colapinto, while Motorsport.com en Español emphasises his admiration for drivers who treat a restart as a chance to gain ground. Montoya compared that approach with Max Verstappen’s, saying drivers who keep looking for opportunities will sometimes make mistakes. He thought the cars ahead appeared to brake early, but accepted that Colapinto got the move wrong. Both publications report the same F1 TV appearance.

The stewards found Colapinto wholly or predominantly responsible, ruling that he braked too late for Turn 1 to make the corner under control. Because he had retired, his ten-second penalty became a five-place grid drop at the next race in which he participates.

Sources 03

SOURCEMontoya verdedigt Colapinto met verwijzing naar VerstappenRacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-09-28
SOURCEMontoya explica por qué "admira" el intento de Colapinto en Bakú y lo compara con VerstappenMotorsport.com en Español · Source date as found: 2026-09-26
SOURCEFranco Colapinto penalty revealed for causing Baku F1 pile-upMotorsport.com · Source date as found: 2026-09-26

Source context

RacingNews365 and Motorsport.com en Español relay Montoya’s F1 TV comments; Motorsport.com quotes the stewards’ ruling.

Claims and supporting evidence 7

At the Baku race restart, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto collided with teammate Pierre Gasly; Gasly then hit McLaren’s Lando Norris. All three retired. This is the incident Montoya was discussing.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Azerbaijan Grand Prix restart collision 26 September 2026 The retrieved accounts are published reports, not a review of race footage.

[2][3]

Former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya, speaking on F1 TV as reported by RacingNews365 and Motorsport.com en Español, said he admired Colapinto’s willingness to seize a restart opportunity. He compared that approach with Max Verstappen’s and said drivers who keep seeking opportunities will make mistakes. He did not say Colapinto was blameless.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Montoya’s assessment and Verstappen comparison Remarks reported on 26 and 28 September 2026 Both publications relay the same F1 TV appearance. Neither retrieved document is the broadcast or a complete transcript; the comparison is Montoya’s opinion, not an assessment by Verstappen.

[2][1]

Montoya thought the cars ahead appeared to brake early and that Colapinto expected them to brake later. He said Colapinto almost stopped the car, but explicitly acknowledged that Colapinto made a mistake and hit Gasly, also putting Norris out. His speeds and braking markers were an illustrative scenario, not reported measurements of this collision.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Montoya’s explanation of the braking error Remarks reported on 26 September 2026 This is Montoya’s interpretation as relayed by Motorsport.com en Español; no telemetry or original F1 TV recording was retrieved.

[2]

Motorsport.com quotes the stewards as finding Colapinto wholly or predominantly to blame: he braked too late into Turn 1 and could not take the corner in a controlled manner. They converted the standard 10-second time penalty into a five-place grid drop at the next race he participates in because he had retired.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Stewards’ assessment and sanction 26 September 2026 The decision is quoted within a retrieved Motorsport.com report; the original FIA document was not retrieved. Its next-participated-race wording is more precise than an unqualified claim about a named Grand Prix.

[3]

Motorsport.com en Español reports that Colapinto acknowledged an error and apologised. Motorsport.com reports that Norris called for a race ban before seeing a replay. These are distinct responses, not evidence that Montoya endorsed either a ban or the stewards’ sanction.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Contemporaneous response to the collision 26 September 2026 The retrieved documents report the drivers’ responses; their original interviews or recordings were not retrieved.

[2][3]

RacingNews365 frames Montoya’s comments as a defence of a criticised driver, while Motorsport.com en Español foregrounds his admiration for the attempt and his admission that Colapinto erred. Their accounts of the Verstappen comparison are substantively aligned, not conflicting independent confirmation of the broadcast. A separate Motorsport.com article adds the stewards’ adverse finding and sanction; it does not report a different Montoya interview.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Comparison of the retrieved coverage Reports published 26–28 September 2026 This comparison covers only the three retrieved publications. The two Motorsport.com articles are from editions of the same publisher; the two accounts of Montoya trace back to F1 TV.

[1][2][3]

RacingNews365’s article says Malaysia, and Motorsport.com says the Malaysian Grand Prix; RacingNews365’s calendar on the same retrieved page lists Bahrain on 4 October 2026. The quoted stewards’ decision specifies the next race in which Colapinto participates without naming it.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Identification of the race affected by the grid penalty Reports retrieved 28 September 2026; prospective next race The quoted decision ties the penalty to Colapinto’s next participation, not unconditionally to a named race.

[1][3]

Corrections and updates to this story

05 Oct 2026, 23:46

Verduidelijkt dat Colapinto de genoemde fout maakte. De uitleg over wanneer een gridstraf ingaat is behouden.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.