Former Formula 1 driver and eight-time race winner Mark Webber believes Haas driver Romain Grosjean is “borderline out of his depth” in F1, following his defensive driving tactics during the British Grand Prix.
Grosjean was first warned after he moved twice under braking to defend from McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and was later shown a black and white flag when he repeated the tactic on Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The rules stipulate that drivers can only move once to defend, but Webber says Grosjean needs to brush up on his knowledge of the regulations, especially as chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
“I don’t think he understands the rules of engagement,” Webber said. “He is moving around very late in defending. He is saying he is leaving a car’s width on the inside, which technically he is, but this weaving in the middle of the road at high speed…he has got to be even further across to show his intention earlier.
“I think Grosjean has a gross misunderstanding of what current Grand Prix racing is all about in terms of wheel-to-wheel combat.
“He’s mentioned how Max Verstappen was in the past, and that is in the past, we have moved on.
“He’s the chairman of the GPDA. He should know the rules. For me, Grosjean is borderline out of his depth in Formula 1.”
“He [Grosjean] changed direction,” Sainz said over the radio. “Dangerous. Oh my god.” Ricciardo also commented on Grosjean driving, which he described as “sketchy”.
The stewards took a closer look at both incidents after the race but chose not to penalise the Frenchman, instead sticking with an official warning.
Grosjean insisted after the race that his moves were fine and although late, believes they were on the limit of the rules.
