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Haas F1 is very unhappy by the punishment that Carlos Sainz received for the collision he caused during last Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix. The Spaniard received a three-place grid penalty for Azerbaijan as he turned sideways in Romain Grosjean, causing Sainz to spin and take out Felipe Massa.
Grosjean's race was also compromised as he was forced to make an early pit-stop to change his front wing. After the race, Sainz claimed that Grosjean was in his blind spot and there was simply nothing he could do.
"I never realised a Haas was in my dead angle in the mirror and we collided, he said. "If I look back now there's actually nothing I could have done differently because when I checked my mirrors I never saw Romain on the right side."
Glasses are needed
Guenther Steiner, the team principal of the Haas F1 team, has blasted the stewards for the minor punishment that they handed the way of the Toro Rosso driver. Steiner made reference to the incident in Belgium 2012 when Grosjean himself was handed a one-race ban due to a major collision he caused at turn 1.
"The punishment is too low," Steiner told Auto Motor und Sport. "Grosjean had a whole race ban in Spa in 2012 for overlooking other cars in the blind spot. He pushed Magnussen off the track in the exit of the pit lane at Barcelona," Steiner explained. "And, he messed up practice in Montreal because he did not look in the mirrors. Either he needs glasses or larger mirrors."
Fergal Walsh
Although I agree the punishment is too low, referring to Grosjeans penalty in Belgium is unfair. Grosjean got a race ban because it wasn't the first time that the "first lap nutcase" striked and because the consequences of the crash in Spa were much higher than we saw on Sunday. It was meant as a wake up call for Grosjean, one Sainz doesn't really need at this stage.
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Kevin
Posts: 5,301
Although I agree the punishment is too low, referring to Grosjeans penalty in Belgium is unfair. Grosjean got a race ban because it wasn't the first time that the "first lap nutcase" striked and because the consequences of the crash in Spa were much higher than we saw on Sunday. It was meant as a... [Read more]