Former Haas Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean has apologised to Zak Brown after “misunderstanding” Brown’s comments on Oscar Piastri in Madrid.
Grosjean attended the Spanish GP as a pundit for French television station Canal+ alongside appearing on F1 TV.
The ex-F1 driver was in screen during an F1 TV interview with McLaren boss Zak Brown after qualifying at the Madring where Lando Norris took pole position.
Oscar Piastri qualified in P7, four tenths behind his teammate.
“I think you’ve got Lando on his A-plus game, so I don’t think there was anything left lap-time-wise there and so he found that,” Brown said.
“Oscar has been right there with him all weekend and just didn’t get that same extra [performance] that lap.
“We’ll continue to look at it. He’ll look at the data and probably do what we all did and go: ‘Wow, what a lap!”
Grosjean admits to Zak Brown misunderstanding on Oscar Piastri remarks
During his Spanish GP commentary with Canal+ the next day, Grosjean claimed that Brown had been heavily critical of Piastri, adding that Brown had said Norris is a world champion and better driver than Piastri.
On Sunday evening, Grosjean posted an apology to social media, admitting that he had misinterpreted the McLaren boss’ words.
The post read: “Today, I made a comment on Canal Plus F1 regarding Zak Brown’s comments about Oscar Piastri during an interview yesterday on F1 TV, which I was part of.
“I completely misunderstood his words and want to apologise for that. I know how important it is to Zak and the entire McLaren team to respect their drivers and treat them fairly and equally.
“McLaren had the fastest car today and were unlucky with the VSC. I’m sure both Lando and Oscar will have another chance to fight for the win in Baku.”
Unfortunate Virtual Safety Car timing and a long pit stop deprived Norris and McLaren of a win in Madrid, with the reigning World Champion eventually finishing third.
READ MORE – Madrid’s F1 debut: What went right and what didn’t
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