Grosjean hit with Mexican GP grid penalty

Haas endured a nightmare United States Grand Prix as Romain Grosjean retired from the race and was hit with a grid penalty for the next race in Mexico.

Grosjean hit Charles Leclerc at Turn 12 on the opening lap of the race, accepting fault for locking up and spinning the Sauber. The contact was significant enough to damage Grosjean’s steering rack and force the Frenchman to retire his car early on. Leclerc also retired later in the race, citing damage from the collision.

The stewards handed Grosjean a three-place grid penalty for the Mexican Grand Prix for being at fault, while also giving him one penalty point.

“Video evidences showed that entering Turn 12 Car 8 locked tires and made contact with Car 16,” the stewards decision read. “As a result of the incident both cars suffered damage and Car 8 had to retire.

“The Stewards noted that Car 8 lifted and braked early because of the positions of the cars in front, but nevertheless Car 8 made contact with Car 16. The Stewards awarded just 1 penalty point in recognition of the circumstances.”

The penalty point is significant as Grosjean now has 10 for the 12-month period. Had the stewards handed out three penalty points, he would have been given an automatic one-race penalty. Grosjean will start losing penalty points as of October 28, one day after the race in Mexico, meaning two penalty points next weekend would also result in a ban.

Aside from Grosjean’s penalty, Haas also saw Kevin Magnussen disqualified from ninth place in the race for using more than 105kg of fuel, while Renault picked up 14 points and holds a 22-point lead in the battle for fourth in the constructors’ championship.