Grosjean: Palmer gave me no chance

Romain Grosjean had to dismount on the first lap of the Russian GP after contact with Jolyon Palmer at turn 2. The pilot Haas, who started from last position after suffering on his VF17 throughout the weekend, was placed on the inside of the corner before hitting the Renault from the British.

“I had a superb start and was inside Palmer under braking, explained Romain Grosjean. I don't know why he closed the door on me. I was at his height and he just turned as if I wasn't there.

I tried to take the rope as far as I could, but he hit me, spun and hit me again. The car was seriously damaged and the race was over for me. »

Jolyon Palmer, unsurprisingly, has a slightly different take on the matter.

“I got a decent start and found myself at turn 2 with a Sauber on the outside. Romain then had a very ambitious maneuver by getting on the curbs and trying to overtake me from the inside.

I had no place with the Sauber, maybe Romain hadn't noticed, but in any case he continued his attempt, hit me, and we both retired. »

The Russian GP stewards ultimately concluded that the accident was a simple racing incident and did not impose a penalty. If certain images seemed to show that Romain Grosjean's attempt was aggressive, the video from his on-board camera actually qualifies this impression.

“I really hoped that we would understand what happened this weekend and improve things for the next race (in Barcelona, ​​May 14), added Romain Grosjean. Even though we might not get into the points, it's always good to see what we can do. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Russian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Sochi, in issue 2112 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Thursday on newsstands.