Grosjean forced to retire: “It sucks”

Clearly, the Australian Grand Prix is ​​not the best venue in Romain Grosjean (Haas). Qualified in a convincing sixth place on the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on Saturday, the Frenchman did not see the finish of the first race of 2019, for the sixth time in his career F1. 

The departure had already compromised Romain Grosjean's opportunities, who was overwhelmed by his teammate Kevin Magnussen. The Dane would then get priority during the pit stop wave. His pit stop went perfectly, but when the Habs changed tires, it was a disaster:

Changing the left front wheel caused him to lose a huge amount of time. Back on track, Romain Grosjean was fighting out of the points! The 31st lap finally got the better of his Haas, which stopped at the side of the circuit due toa loose wheel, still on the front left. 

“I love the track, but it’s not a GP that doesn’t suit me. I think I was going faster, explains the Frenchman at the microphone of Canal+. En strategy we could have done a little better, I was totally stuck behind Kevin at the start of the event. There Renault (of Nico Hulkenberg) then put pressure on us and then the pit stop was the icing on the cake. Finally, the technical problem is annoying. »

The abandonment of Romain Grosjean must certainly remind him the disillusionment of the previous edition. While in the running for a group finish in the top 5, the two Haas had given up due to a human error in the pits. 

Find the analysis of the Australian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2208 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.