In my book after a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix, at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado are officially Formula 1’s bad boys.
The pair have been central to a number of unsavoury incidents so far this year and at Spa they were again villains of the piece, starting with Maldonado’s wayward false start and a split second later Grosjean triggering a pile-up that had us all sighing with relief to see all the drivers involved emerging unscathed from their wrecked cars.
In one swoop we were robbed of what was sure to be an intriguing duel in the Ardennes forest which was sure to include championship leader Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and the luckless Sauber drivers who 24 hours earlier enjoyed their best qualifying ever.
But Grosjean ripped up the script when he squeezed his Lotus into Hamilton’s McLaren, the 2008 world champion simply had nowhere to go, inevitably the two touched and they became passengers as their cars mowed down everything in front of them.
Rewind to the Monaco GP in May, Grosjean made an identical move on Michael Schumacher which also triggered a multiple car pile-up in Turn 1 at the city street circuit.
Dramatic pictures of the incident at Spa were plastered all over the Internet and on the front pages of just about every newspaper on Monday. It was a very close call, particularly for Alonso who appeared to be bombarded by bits of F1 car before his Ferrari came to a steaming halt at the side of Turn 1 at Spa. Very close call and relief all around.
Back to the villains…
Maldonado’s explained his over ambitious reaction: “I made a slight mistake at the start because the clutch slipped out of my hands before the red light switched off.” Okay mistakes do happen, but why is it always him making the slip ups.
Only 24 hours earlier he was handed a three place grid penalty for blocking Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg during qualifying and then, after his false start which earned him a grid penalty penalty for Monza, he was involved in a coming together with Timo Glock in the Marussia – another grid penalty handed out. Perhaps two yellow cards in one ‘game’ should result in a one or two race ban?
Maldonado’s season has been littered by controversial incidents, which have not only cost him dear but also impacted the progress of others.
There is no doubting that Maldonado, the 2010 GP2 Series champion, is a talent. Winning the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year and his rapid pace just about everywhere is testament to his talent, but for now he is a raw talent who has brought upon himself a bad reputation which grows with just about every outing.
Sergio Perez, who has had a number of run-ins with Maldonado said after an incident at the recent British GP: “He doesn’t respect other drivers. This guy will never learn if they don’t do something, he could hurt someone. Everybody has concerns about him. The way he is driving the stewards have to do something. He affects many other drivers. I am not the only one.”
Ominous words from a driver at the highest level.
Grosjean, is another huge talent. He won two races at Dubai Autodrome during his GP2 Asia championship winning year and is the reigning GP2 Series champion. He was a superstar in the junior categories and has undeniable speed in a Formula 1 car, but his temperament under duress must be questioned because according to Reuters the Frenchman has been involved in seven controversial incidents in 12 races this season.
Irony or coincidence, whichever way you look at it, Maldonado and Grosjean (although champions of GP2) were also notorious throughout their junior careers. They have a catalogue of unsavoury incidents on their CVs and this is where the source of the problems lies.
Week in and week out ill discipline on track manifests itself in just about every junior formulae in motorsport, it is part and parcel of racing just as the foul or the dive is part and parcel of football. Ultimately it is how the ‘culprits’ are dealt with that influences how their on track attitude progresses into their senior careers in motorsport.
A slap on the wrist invariably has no long term benefit in any sport, but stringent penalties may well start to have the desired effect.
The one race ban handed to Grosjean by the FIA is a step in the right direction. The decision accepted without argument by the driver himself and the Lotus team whose team principal declared: “We fully respect the Stewards’ decision.”
In the aftermath of Grosjean’s penalty, many question why Maldonado has not been handed a similar penalty for some of the incidents he has been involved in – consistency in these matters will add to credibility – but Grosjean’s plight may force others, such as Maldonado, to reconsider their on-track etiquette in future.
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, on a day he saw his driver Alonso escape serious injury, summed up the root of the problem succinctly: “I can only say that the judgement falls to the FIA; what is certain, is that it would be better if, starting with the junior formulae, rules relating to on-track behaviour were enforced in an inflexible manner, so as to have drivers as well prepared as possible when they reach this, the highest level of motor sport.”
Thus the solution is to stamp out the Grosjean-Maldonado style ‘on-track behaviour’ at the very onset of the problem, namely in the junior karting ranks and thereafter all the way through the ranks to GP2 with consistency and inflexibility – with immediate effect. In other words ‘nipping it in the bud’ before things get even worse.
— The writer is communications manager at Dubai Autodrome
