Steiner: “They can’t crash into each other every race!”
Two weeks after a collision that caused a double retirement at Silverstone, the two Haas drivers collided once again at Hockenheim. Enough to infuriate their team principal, Günther Steiner.
It’s becoming a habit, but a bad one. For the third time this season, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have collided during a race. This is all the more detrimental as it occurs just two weeks after an incident that saw them retire at the very start of the race.
We could therefore expect their director Günther Steiner to be in a foul mood when meeting the press in the American team’s motorhome. At first, he wanted to remain measured since he hadn’t reviewed the footage as the race was thrilling from start to finish. But as the conversation with the assembled panel of journalists progressed, he eventually said: « I will have to review it, see what the next steps will be because it’s unacceptable! They can’t keep crashing into each other at every race! »
He is all the more irritated that his drivers only collide with each other and not with competitors’ drivers. When asked if he feels that the drivers understand the rules of engagement among themselves, he could only respond: « That’s a difficult question. I thought they understood after Barcelona… »
This collision was not the only notable incident for Haas, as Romain Grosjean was involved in a dangerous situation during the first pit stop when Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari rejoined right in front of him: « He lost five places! He was in neutral, rolling slowly but suddenly he had to brake, then shift back into gear to accelerate again. » He questioned the FIA’s decision to impose only a financial penalty (5000 euros) on Ferrari and not a penalty on Charles Leclerc: « We’ll need to think about that: it can encourage risky behavior, the FIA receives the money. In the end, only the one who is slowed down loses out. »
In the end, both drivers still managed to finish in the points. But in a race where the other teams scored big points, Haas leaves Germany only in ninth position in the Constructors’ Championship. The issue of the performance of the cars is still not resolved: « We were losing so many positions after the stops. We just weren’t fast enough. »
In any case, the first meeting of the day next Thursday in Budapest will start with a meeting with the two drivers: « It doesn’t help us, we should think of something else. »
LAP 56/64
The two Haas cars come together as they battle for a points finish 🙈
No damage seemingly done, with Romain Grosjean getting the better of the tussle#F1 #GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/8Uv5kLEaz2
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019
From our special correspondent in Hockenheim
