Penalized after the race, Grosjean draws the ire of Button and Alonso

For his clash with Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean received a 20-second penalty that does not change his final ranking. However, after already receiving a Drive Through penalty for overtaking beyond the track limits on Felipe Massa, Grosjean is criticized by some for his excessive aggressiveness, starting with Fernando Alonso.

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Penalized during the race with a drive-through penalty for overtaking Felipe Massa while off the track limits, Romain Grosjean was once again subjected to the stewards’ wrath, receiving a 20-second penalty for his collision with Jenson Button. The Frenchman still retains his sixth place at the finish, behind Fernando Alonso.

However, far from having improved his image, the Lotus driver once again drew the ire of his fellow racers, starting with Jenson Button: “I had to be a target for a large part of the race. I know I’m slower, but I seemed to be in the crosshairs of Sebastian [Vettel] as well as Grosjean,” analyzed the Briton after the race on Sky Sport F1. “I will see the stewards about the incident with Grosjean, but I think it’s quite clear: I couldn’t go further left… unless I went onto the grass, which is not where I want to end up when braking. It was impossible for us not to make contact. He obviously didn’t realize how narrow the circuit was at that point.”

The Frenchman nevertheless acknowledged his mistakes and apologized to the 2009 world champion, still on the Sky Sport F1 channel: « With Jenson, I was a bit too far to the left. The track narrows, and I was too wide, so I want to apologize. We were both lucky to come out without damage. »

Regarding the Drive Through penalty given to him during the race, the Geneva native simply considers the penalty unfair: “I had at least two wheels on the white line. I tried the outside and was pushing hard.” Grosjean also received support from Eric Boullier, Lotus team director: “I feel the same way because I believe the penalty was too harsh. He had nowhere else to go so he was slightly over the line but only by a few centimeters.”

For his part, Fernando Alonso is pleased with the penalty given to the Frenchman, as he considered him too aggressive in this race, especially during the start: « We thought the start was our only opportunity because we weren’t fast enough. [But] we couldn’t take advantage of it. Grosjean only focused on me, maybe he forgot that there were 22 of us on track. I was happy that he received a penalty afterward to somewhat compensate for his aggressiveness. »

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