Report on the French: Zero for the Tricolores, Romain Grosjean in turmoil

Romain Grosjean (Haas-Ferrari): retirement

Once again, Romain Grosjean made headlines during the race and experienced a most embarrassing moment on the first lap in turn 3. Surprised by the stall of his teammate Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in front of him, the Frenchman spun around before accelerating to attempt a 360 and get back on track, but his maneuver was desperate and impossible.

Stuck in the middle of the track, Grosjean collided with Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault and Pierre Gasly’s Toro Rosso, leading to the retirement of all three men.

After his accident, the Haas driver wasn’t very talkative and struggled to justify himself: « I don’t have much to say. I lost the rear in turn 3 and spun around. I thought I could recover the front, it came back and then went off again, but there wasn’t much to do, whether I braked or accelerated. »

The Frenchman will surely appreciate Nico Hülkenberg’s advice, who was also a victim of the Haas driver’s behavior: « He likes to spin during the weekend, but on the first lap it’s not the right time with all the cars around. He needs to look into it and work on it. »

The most dramatic moment of the race 😬

Three cars eliminated after just three corners at the #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/x9WlKHJLlY

— Formula 1 (@F1) 13 mai 2018

Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso-Honda): retirement

Victim of Romain Grosjean’s catastrophic maneuver at turn 3, the Toro Rosso driver didn’t even complete a lap in this Spanish Grand Prix. A frustrating race for the Frenchman who had been largely dominating his teammate since the beginning of the weekend: « I started from 12th place and we had climbed up to 10th after the start. So we could have hoped to score points. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish, which is a shame. It’s only the fifth race of the season, but it’s a missed opportunity. »

Gasly didn’t really understand what happened to him during the collision with Romain Grosjean: The collision with Romain after the start was a real mess. I saw a bit of space on the inside with Nico [Hülkenberg] and I tried to cut the corner as much as possible, but he suddenly came back on us. It put us out of the race, Nico and me, concluded the Frenchman, a bit bitterly.

Esteban Ocon (Force India-Mercedes): retirement

The Force India driver experienced a turbulent race in Spain. After an average start hampered by Grosjean’s accident, Ocon encountered a problem with the right rear during his pit stop. A fatal setback for the Frenchman, who was ultimately last before retiring due to an engine problem. “A really disappointing day for me,” sighed Ocon after the race.

We were driving quite well and aiming for points, then things went from bad to worse. There was a problem with my right rear wheel during the pit stop. We lost at least 20 seconds, and I rejoined at the back of the pack. A few laps later, I lost power and had to stop the car. Probably an oil pressure issue… concluded the last French driver in the race, disheartened before his retirement in what turned out to be a very disappointing weekend for the tricolor.