The only explanation I can think of is Grosjean was given a warning at a previous race. Maldo has probably been given a range of warning for many different infringements
The first thing I texted to my brother the moment the replay showed what really went on was that Grosjean be handed a race ban. I thought that would be seen as "too much" by the stewards but they are bang on. Grosjean is an extremely dangerous driver at the start and has made silly errors countless times which has ruined his own race as well as those of many others. Today was the worst yet. It was an appalling/thick as pig**** piece of driving which could have seen a severe head injury to Fernando Alonso, one of many helpless victims including Lewis Hamilton in today's crash. Hopefully this race ban will make Grosjean buck up his ideas. If he doesn't I would personally take away his super license that enables him to drive in formula one. There is no place for such reckless, careless and downright stupid driving, ESPECIALLY at the start.
I think the penalty is appropriate. What he did was incredibly dangerous and stupid. He's been involved in a number of incidents this year and repeat offenders should receive more severe penalties. Now it's time to give Maldonado a race ban.
Furious with Grosjean but **** happens and i'm glad nobody was hurt. I think a race ban was harsh but you can understand why it was given, difficult decision for the stewards.
I think he's on his last warning as well. His jump start was something of a farce I feel and we could so easily have been talking about two drivers with a race ban which would be a sad look on the formula one grid so often hyped as the "best grid ever". We've seen some great driving lately but this more artificial form of racing has also seen a rise in the sort of piss poor driving so often displayed by Maldonado. (Grosjean is an exception to the rule considering that the accidents he causes are not as a result of more open racing following the start.) It's hard to call this the best era of f1 when that is the case I'm afraid. Personally I don't think there's a place or a future for people like Maldonado and Grosjean in the sport.
Words cannot begin to describe how disgusted I was at the decision to ban Grosjean for 1 race. When the incident occurred, obviously I was concerned for the safety of the drivers considering I thought that the lotus was going to flip in the air and also Alonso nearly had his head wiped off. Firstly, I could not believe David Coulthard thought that it may have been caused by Kobayashi's slow start. Most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. Looking at the accident, Grosjean does keep moving slightly right into Hamilton, but again, could we aim some of the blame at the wing mirrors? Grosjean may not have seen Hamilton in his mirrors. I haven't heard what Martin Brundle said about the incident and I am desperate to find out when I watch the highlights on Sky. As for the penalty, I couldn't believe the punishment which Grosjean had received. It was a racing incident as the wheels interlocked (maybe the wrong term) as they headed towards the braking area. The nature of the accident meant that Hamilton ended up in the back of Grosjean which meant that Grosjean couldn't brake which is why the accident was more vigorous and furthermore Turn 1 is a very slow corner as you all know! No-one should have been penalised in my opinion because it was a racing accident which is most likely to occur again (let's hope not!) It would have been facinating to see if the same punishment would have applied if the culprit had have been one of the championship rivals. Probably not I suspect! I know that this is aimed at Grosjean, but Maldonado's 5 place penalty for jumping the start is disgraceful too. He is a one to make lots of mistakes, but come on, did that really deserve a penalty just for jumping the start? Grosjean's penalty is another case in which the drivers will be too scared to race together or even overtake in the coming years. The slightest bit of contact, even though if it is a racing incident,would result in a penalty and it's becoming a joke. They are the finest drivers in the world, but surely most races will have a incident and its a shame that the stewards will be straight on their backs even if no one was at fault. That's my opinion.
Blimey I hadn't seen this, what a ridiculous decision. Have they punished Schumacher for his pit entry? It was miles worse than what Perez was punished for in Monaco, he almost took Seb's wing off three times.
Maldonado has a 10 place Grid Penalty next week. 5 for the jump start & 5 for his crash (which I don't think we seen) with Timo Glock. Tweet from Lee McKenzie: '10,000 euro fine for @H_Kovalainen unsafe release. No action for Webber release or Schumacher entry to pits' THE STEWARDS ARE DESTROYING THE SPORT
I thought Red Bull should've been fined for their release, it looked like Webber reacted to Massa to avoid a collision, great awareness from him.
As someone mentioned before, Vettel enjoyed the battle with his hero, as both were targeting the pits it does not deserve a penalty. And the most obvious fact, there was no contact.
Because it was so blatantly obvious that it was actually funny. Punishing him may deter him from doing it again, and where's the fun in that.
It's a ridiculous infringement to carry over to the next race. He didn't gain anything from it and it would've ruined his race if he hadn't crashed out. It would be like giving someone a five place grid penalty for cutting a chicane in qualifying and then crashing before completing the lap.
The stewards have to penalise someone for breaking the rules within the race itself. If someone cuts the chicane then crashes out then they're punished at the next race because they broke the rules. I can see where you're coming from but it's not whether you gain an advantage, it's whether you break the rules. The precedent would be Hamilton being punished for cutting the chicane at, cleverly enough, Spa 4 years ago, despite Raikkonen crashing out of the race later on rendering the point somewhat moot. We complain that the stewards seem occasionally too obsessed with "avenging" crimes rather than following the letter of the rules, we can't really accuse them of the opposite.
Very true And to those asking why Maldonado hasn't been banned, I'd say that it's because no incident that he's been involved in has been of the magnitude of Grosjean's today, which looks worse with each new angle I see it from. Pastor has, however, been punished repeatedly and sometimes severely, e.g. the penalty above.
He made a mistake and didn't benefit from it, why should he get a penalty? He hasn't cheated, he hasn't driven recklessly, dangerously or aggressively and he hasn't affected anyone's race. Why can't common sense prevail? The stewards aren't there to look for any excuse to punish people. The sport has become way too bureaucratic, too many results are decided in the stewards' office.
Totally agree If he hadn't have crashed, he would have recieved a drive-through which is right, but to carry a penalty to the next race for a mistake despite crashing, then that is crazy.
Deliberately crashing into Perez in Monaco was worse in my opinion. At least Grosjean was trying to defend a position, and he may have thought Hamilton was still behind when he came across, I'm sure he didn't want to collide with Hamilton, whilst it was aggressive it was poor judgement more than anything else.
