Pierre Gasly rejects Romain Grosjean’s explanation for the Spanish Grand Prix crash which eliminated the pair and Nico Hulkenberg from the race.
Grosjean has a three-place grid penalty for this weekend’s race as the stewards held him responsible for the crash. The Haas driver accelerated after losing control of his car, which sent it spinning into the pack where the two drivers hit it.
In the aftermath of the crash Grosjean defended his actions, saying it reduced the chance of other drivers hitting him. But after reviewing footage of the crash many times Gasly said Grosjean could have avoided taking other drivers out.“I’ve watched the video 50 times,” said Gasly. “I think it’s always easier to judge afterwards because as a driver when everything is happening and you have one [or] two tenths to take a decision things are different. When you look at it 50 times and you take 10 minutes to think about what he could have done differently it’s always easier.
“He lost the car first time, then it kind of came back. At that time I think he was a bit too optimistic and he was thinking ‘OK I can actually race again’, like he thought that the car would stick and it will be fine.
“I think he came back on the throttle and he lost it a second time and he stayed on the throttle at that time. But probably if he would have been more patient when it recovered, would have been a bit wider, he could have braked, maybe flat-spotted the four tyres and then it would not have been ideal for his race but at least he would have not ruined Nico’s race and mine.
“It’s always easier to have a look after but probably there were other options which would have been better for him and also us with Nico.”
Gasly said he would have apologised if he’d made the same mistake as Grosjean. “I didn’t speak about him and he didn’t speak to me about it as well. I think [in] such a situation I would have at least apologised. But I’m fine, it’s not a big deal.”
The Toro Rosso driver revealed a software problem which caused a slow start left him in the firing line of Grosjean’s car.
“I had a small issue when I up-shifted to second gear,” said Gasly. “The first getaway was really good, then after to second gear we had a software issue which made the up-shift really slow and I lost massive acceleration.
“From there I got a bit squeezed into turn one and there was no point to risk, I was pretty close to Perez and Charles on the left, was a bit stuck in the middle. It was not the greatest start.”
Gasly said the team has addressed the fault after replicating it in testing.
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Michael Brown (@)
23rd May 2018, 20:58
It looked like something Maldonado would do
Lucas (@datguylucas)
23rd May 2018, 21:01
LOL I read it wrong
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
24th May 2018, 2:00
Like Gasly said, he got spooked by mag then he lost it a 2nd time and decided to “yolo” style slam the throttle. Had he lifted, he would’ve spun on the outside line, where he was, possibly a bit more on the inside, possibly getting into the gravel as well, i guess he just didnt want to be facing the traffic but that backfired badly as he had better chances to get control had he not gone on denial. eventually he was both backwards and on the racing line.
Jackson
24th May 2018, 2:19
Grosjean is a joke , pure punch line of the sport why is he in F1 ? He looks so stunned and lost when the camera is on him, Monaco is a Accident waiting to happen
RL
24th May 2018, 3:46
I suppose if no one was crashing, F1 would be a safer but perhaps less interesting spectacle. So kudos for Romain for enlivening the 2018 F1 season thus far.
John H (@john-h)
24th May 2018, 9:10
Disappointing to hear Grosjean didn’t apologise to those he took out.
Gary
24th May 2018, 9:39
I think it’s hilarious to hear people assert — including insiders like G Steiner – that one can’t know how Grosjean’s car might have reacted under different scenarios, i.e. with different driver inputs on throttle, brake, steering, clutch. If this were the case then there would be no simulators and no discussion of correlation between the simulator and the track. It is self evident that F1 engineers who develop these cars and simulators know with a high degree of certainty how these cars will react under various scenarios and a set of initial conditions. It’s just Newtonian mechanics.
Nitzo (@webtel)
24th May 2018, 10:09
Really appreciate Gasly’s patience here.
To watch someone ruin you race for 50 times takes a massive amount of conviction. Gasly is a monk !!
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
24th May 2018, 11:50
Haha, I remembered my school days and the kind of statements we used to make to gain moral upper ground …..