Romain Grosjean has a grudge against that « idiot Ericsson » but was clearly not in the game
On his thirtieth birthday, Romain Grosjean had nothing but unpleasant surprises in China. The Frenchman tangled from the very first corner, and the pace of his unrecognizable Haas never allowed him to move up the field.
Twice scoring points in his first two races with Haas, Romain Grosjean clearly did not experience the same success in China. The Frenchman got tangled up right at the start with Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber. After the race, speaking to Canal +, he was still visibly upset: « It was the worst birthday I could have. That idiot Ericsson crashes into me at turn 1 and breaks my front wing. He says he didn’t see anything, he didn’t understand anything, I just think he needs to open his eyes, » said an exasperated Grosjean.
However, the initial collision should not overshadow Haas’ considerable difficulties in getting their car to perform throughout the weekend. Romain Grosjean had an extremely difficult race and even finished behind Pascal Wehrlein’s Manor, to the point of wanting to retire before the end of the Grand Prix. “The balance of the car was catastrophic from start to finish,” confirmed Grosjean. “We need to analyze and understand; there might be a physical problem. We can’t go from where we were to here without reason. A weekend like this can be positive for understanding things.”
Esteban Gutierrez, 14th at the finish, experienced a bit more success than his teammate but was never able to aim for points, notably due to a problem with his DRS. The young Mexican could still be pleased to have finished his first race of the season: « Unfortunately, we didn’t have DRS. It was therefore difficult to overtake. But in the end, it was a solid race. We now need to finish in the points and that’s what we’re going to focus on. I look forward to the next race. »
A rebound is therefore expected for Haas in two weeks, at the Russian Grand Prix.
