Romain Grosjean has been given a three-place grid drop for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix following a first lap crash in Spain that took out two other competitors. The stewards were not convinced that Grosjean made the right decision during the spin.
The spin occurred on the first lap of the Spanish Grand Prix. The Frenchman lost the rear of his car on the outside of turn three, believed to be the result of some turbulent air caused by his Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen, who also got a bit out of shape and crossed in front of him. When he started to spin, Grosjean applied to throttle, spinning the rear tyres and sending his car into the traffic.
While most of the drivers were fortunate enough to avoid the incident, the same could not be said for Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly, both of whom stuck Grosjean’s car and put an early end to their day. The incident warranted the safety car and an investigation by the stewards.
Grosjean has since been given a three-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix and two penalty points added to his super license. The stewards believe that the decision to apply throttle during the spin was the wrong one.
Meanwhile, Grosjean defended his decision for the stewards, claiming that he felt the car heading into the middle of the racing line and applied power so that the car would cross the circuit as quickly as possible, instead of getting stranded in the middle with the oncoming cars.
The stewards disagreed, saying in their statement:
“In reviewing the video, the stewards found that the car was following the line on the left side of the track and was almost fully off the track, when he made the decision to cross it.”
The added amount of smoke caused by the spinning rear tyres was also a safety factor, as it limited the visibility through the accident. Grosjean has said that there is nothing that he could have done to avoid the collision.
