Romain Grosjean has been struck with a one race ban for causing the multi-car crash on the opening lap of this afternoon’s Belgian Grand Prix, in which the Frenchman collided with Lewis Hamilton and then violently collected the unsuspecting Fernando Alonso in the process. Grosjean has also picked up a hefty €50,000 fine.
Once the five red lights went out signaling the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, chaos and carnage ensued as Romain Grosjean left Lewis Hamilton no room on the inside heading down to turn 1, resulting in the two touching with each other and slamming into the slow moving Fernando Alonso who was cautiously negotiating the low-speed La Source hairpin. The Ferrari driver was violently collided with, and resulted in a lengthy safety car period as the marshals cleared up the mess.
As a result of this dangerous and horrific incident, the race stewards have imposed a one-race ban upon Romain Grosjean, which will see him miss next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. The Frenchman has become renowned for his hit and miss mentality, with Grosjean either finishing the race competitively or not finishing the race at all. Grosjean caused a similar incident at Monaco, in which he and Michael Schumacher tangled on the run down to turn 1. This, coupled with the seriousness of today’s incident, assisted the stewards in imposing the one-race band.
“The stewards regard this incident as an extremely serious breach of the regulations which had the potential to cause injury to others.” Read a statement from the stewards with regards to the penalty. “It eliminated leading Championship contenders from the race. The stewards note the team conceded the action of the driver was an extremely serious mistake and an error of judgement. Neither the team nor the driver made any submission in mitigation of penalty.”
Immediately after the incident, Romain Grosjean explained how he was unsure who caused the calamitous incident, however the race stewards saw otherwise and have dealt the Frenchman an almighty blow. This penalty will send out an unmistakable message to the other drivers on the grid, with dangerous driving simply not being tolerated in the top echelon of motor sport.
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