Grosjean should pay for damage

The unsavoury leftovers from Japan’s grand prix speed fest have deposited a bad taste in some Formula One mouths.

Mouths that were vociferous about the dubious and scary antics of Mr Calamity, otherwise known as Romain Grosjean, the careless and carefree problem boy who is causing mayhem on track.

“Head case”, was Aussie victim and veteran Mark Webber’s blunt appraisal of the Lotus troublemaker, an accident waiting to happen every time he steers into the F1 fray.

With Korea looming this weekend, and the danger of yet another crash-bang-wallop situation triggered by Grosjean, his wary rivals point to his disastrous record and urge the rulemakers to crack down on him.

Up to now, 15 races into the title chase, the 26-year-old has been the centrepiece of eight incidents, seven of them on the first lap.

His inauspicious sequence started in Australia when he put himself out of the race after clouting Pastor Maldonado on lap two.

In Malaysia, he bumped Michael Schumacher from behind and sent him spinning.

Spain saw him make contact with Sergio Perez, and in Monaco he caused ructions at the first corner after hitting Fernando Alonso and Schumacher again.

In Britain, he forced Paul di Resta off the track with a puncture, and then picked up a burst tyre of his own in Germany after tangling with Bruno Senna.

The Belgium Grand Prix collapsed into chaos on the first turn when his car took flight after walloping Lewis Hamilton and he landed on Alonso’s Ferrari. He was banned for one race for that moment of madness.

He suffered another penalty, albeit only a stop-go, after ploughing into Webber as early as turn two last time out in Japan.

And that was what stirred the Red Bull veteran’s rage and a confrontation with the culprit in pit lane.

He fumed: “He’s a one-lap nutcase. It’s frustrating — maybe he needs another holiday. He certainly needs to look at himself. It was completely his fault when he hit me.

“How many mistakes can you make, how many times can you make the same first-lap error? It’s embarrassing for him at this level.”

Jenson Button joined the chorus of complaint: “It’s unbelievable. He needs to take a good look at himself and sort himself out. It’s for Formula One to do something about him.”

That’s the mood among F1’s prime movers fearing the prospect of yet another crash scene on Sunday.

Grosjean’s boss Eric Boullier’s response to the furore has been less than emphatic — pathetic more likes — and he accused rivals of putting pressure on his man.

“We could see in Singapore, when he came back from his ban, that some drivers were putting extra pressure on him at the start.”

My solution to end Grosjean’s laxness is simple: Make him pay for the damage he causes to other cars.