Formula 1

Steiner Feels Grosjean did not get the Credit he Deserved during his Formula 1 Career

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Credit: LAT Photo

Up until his departure from Formula 1 at the end of the 2020 season, something which happened somewhat prematurely due to complications related to his horrific accident in the Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean was one of the most diverse drivers on the grid.

Whilst his talent and longevity in the sport was undeniable, he often came under fire for questionable decisions both on and off the track. Despite his moments of on-track oddness though, he did manage to score ten podium finishes in F1 as well as being the driver who’s scored the best results for Haas in the team’s entire history.

His F1 successes are something that his former boss Guenther Steiner wants more attention to be directed towards and he’s expanded on that in an interview with Motorsport.com.

When asked about whether Grosjean sometimes failed to get the credit he deserved as an F1 driver, Steiner responded with “Yes. He was for sure very fast. On a good day, Romain was one of the best ones out there.” He did however go on to state that “he sometimes pushed and tried too hard. Then you see those errors. He just went over the limit and then the errors come.

Steiner also expressed that he felt that Grosjean was taking a big risk in joining Haas when he did, although he feels that the team delivered on everything it promised him. “The difficult bit at that time was there were a few new teams which didn’t deliver, and he knew this could happen, but I explained to him how we are doing it differently. He believed in it and I think we delivered…

Obviously the [2020] season and [2019] were difficult for us, but you can have that in any race team. That had nothing to do with the team being new anymore, that was we got something wrong last year and this year with the pandemic we suffered more than anybody else… He was brave to do it and it didn’t work out badly for him.

Steiner’s opinions were shared by Grosjean’s former teammate Kevin Magnussen. “There’s been some mistakes that he’s made that have been big, say the Baku one [in 2018], where he crashed under the safety car… That got so much attention, but if you look at what position he was in when he crashed, that was an unbelievable.

I think it was fourth or something, in the Haas! Nobody ever talks about that. Had he not crashed under the safety car, he would have had an unbelievable result in that race… It takes away from what an absolutely amazing driver that he is. I think over the last years, him being in an uncompetitive car as well has just meant it’s been hard for him to really show.

Magnussen went on further to say that “people have forgotten what he did back in 2012, 2013, those years where he was on the podium so many times… It’s only down to bad luck he didn’t win a race on quite a few occasions… That’s just how the world works at the moment. Certainly from the inside, being his team-mate, I admire him for the talent he is.

Grosjean’s next career move is currently unknown. He has been linked to a move to the NTT IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing and he has also expressed interest in participating in FIA Formula E and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were teammates at Haas from 2017-2020 (Credit: Andy Hone / LAT Images)
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