Qualifying shouldn't have started - Grosjean

Romain Grosjean says qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix should not have started after crashing on the pit straight in wet conditions.

Following heavy rain all morning that saw just 16 minutes of running permitted in FP3, qualifying started on schedule at 2:00 p.m. local time, with plenty of standing water on the track. Early in the session, Grosjean aquaplaned in a straight line after completing his first timed lap, and slid into the wall on the left-hand side of the circuit before eventually stopping on the other side of the track near the first chicane.

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"On the straight line and the next thing you know you're facing the wall at more than 300 kph," Grosjean said while the FIA delayed the resumption of the session for two and a half hours. "I just think the conditions were not good enough for us to go out there.

"I complained on the out lap saying that I thought there was too much water, we couldn't see anything. You cannot back off on the straight line in case someone is behind because he won't see anything. You can't stay flat out because you're going to lose the car. The first time was just about fine and then the second time I lost it for no reason.

"We shouldn't have gone out at all and I'm pretty straightforward on that."

Grosjean's Haas was not overly damaged in the crash, with the left-rear wheel taking the main impact, but the Frenchman says the incident could have been much worse.

"Yeah the impact wasn't strong. We were lucky having the hit barrier and the move was going towards the track so I was happy with that, I am lucky with that. Spinning on a straight line shouldn't be something you should be seeing in Formula 1."

Asked about visibility during the session, Grosjean added: "You couldn't see, 25 meters ahead, you couldn't see anything."

However, with a much brighter forecast for Sunday and number of drivers set to take power unit penalties, Grosjean remains optimistic of his chances of having a good race.

"Well, we have to see where we are going to start the race first of all. It's going to be a different day, it's going to be better. It's one of those tracks where you can enjoy racing so hopefully we can have some fun."

After a lengthy delay, race control called for qualifying to resume at 4:40 p.m. local time.