oh dear - Romain

[Jersey Tom]

What happened today could have happened to anyone.

There's a difference though between "could have happened" and "did happen." Taking a step back and looking at the season on the whole, if someone has a systematic problem like this... it's not just "bad luck."

[lukeaar]

Well I think honestly Maldonado has made more mistakes (and worse) deserving a race ban, but he got lucky and didn't get caught up in a pile up invloving Alonso and Hamilton. He's also been flying under the radar lately. People were calling for his head earlier in the season - where did the line get drawn and all of a sudden he's been forgotten ?

Maldonado has driven a couple of very clean, impressive even, races. It might be luck, or it might be that he's learning.

I'd like to believe that he's learning.

Regarding Grosjean, I really, really liked him at the start of the season. He's losing me though... If he crashes at the first corner in Korea, surely he'll get a 3 race ban (at least).

[Ray]

He's also been flying under the radar lately.

Well, he's been flying under the radar and not over his competitors cars. Maybe that's the difference!

[waynes]

ok so the options

pit lane starts - whats the point of him turning up for FP1, 2 + 3 then?

ban him - no opportunity for him to learn

fantastic suggestions

here's something from left field - why not let him carry on taking race starts? shock horror, he's a kid, a very fast kid under pressure to perform against a very fast rally driver / former F1 world champion. nerves mean nothing. he's trying too hard.

who gives a flying turd about mark webber, he's a moaning always hard done by idiot who's got just enough talent to justify a red bull drive. i'd rather Webber left the sport than Romain.

rant over before i start swearing

[Ray]

here's something from left field - why not let him carry on taking race starts? shock horror, he's a kid, a very fast kid under pressure to perform against a very fast rally driver / former F1 world champion. nerves mean nothing. he's trying too hard.

That "kid" came within about 4 inches of very possibly killing Fernando Alonso. There's no excuse for that. The difference you fail to see is that Webber doesn't make a habit of destroying other cars because he's "trying too hard." Making mistakes on your own is one thing, destroying other peoples cars and coming very close to killing one shouldn't be tolerated in any way. Kids like that don't belong in Formula 1.

[OppositeLock]

It sounded like Grosjean was driving scared. He was so focused on not hitting Perez that he slammed into Webber. He needs to be a bit more cautious and learn to pick his battles. Maldonado, Perez and Grosjean need to watch a training video.

[SeijaKessen]

I wonder if Grosjean even applied the brakes when he hit Webber. It seemed there was no loss of momentum.

[Cold Fussion]

What happened today could have happened to anyone.

I disagree, he just flew into webber ridge racer style, all the other drivers going 2 wide through that corner didn't terminate each other.

[Hail22]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmYLbZBsBs[/youtube]

On another note...so long as Eric Boullier is there...Romain will be racing.

However if he takes out or ever harms a driver in F1 in the future...you can bet your top dollar that losing his super license will be the least of his problems.

[Websta]

Being able to bang out a lap time in a car is only one element of being a racing driver - Romain has that part covered, but his obviously lack of awareness in traffic/pack racing is a serious issue. His incident with Webber was not just bad luck - he wasn't watching where he was going and had zero awareness. The same as his incident in Spa and Monaco - no awareness of anything outside his focus.

If he has another incident at the start and it is his fault, revoking his super license or starting from the pit lane is really the only solution. "But how will he learn!" they all cry - Formula 1 doesn't owe this kid anything, it's not a finishing school as Webber said and it's Grosjean's problem. And whoever said that it is "just nerves".... really?

And for the record, IMO Maldonado should have gotten a severe 3 race ban at least for his antics with Perez in Monaco (considering Spa 2011), they were much too lenient on him. I mean, that was just outrageous.

[Powershift]

Webbers fault, just kidding, but it did seem he was just way too slow into that 2nd turn.

[stefan_]

It's not very helpful if everybody throws him around and points the finger at him, it will make it worse. Funny thing is how some people around here give their radical opinions, advices about awareness or what he has to do when they have very little or none actual racing experience. I would put one of this "radical expert" guys in a european karting final with 30 of the best guys on the continent fighting for the title to see what he does and to point finger and throw him around.

Yes, Romain made mistakes this season and yesterday it could have happened to 90% of the drivers on the grid if they were in his exact place, expecially if they went through a race ban. I think this time he was honest and was super-extra careful, but he was in the wrong place and wrong time. I'm not saying that he isn't to blame, because he still needs some smacks on the face to wake up, but you guys can be more moderate with your expert opinions.

[Raptor22]

IF this lad wants to keep his seat he has to come to terms with losing out at the start.

He's problem is that he does not want to loose and therefore he panics.

Only advise I can offer him is too break the race down into segments and set goals.

Goal 1: Finish Lap 1 at ALL costs even if he looses 10 places doing so. Accept this and he will calm down
Goal 2: Look after the car. Keep it clear of trouble. That means matching others pace at the start. Don't try to be a hero into turn 1.

These two basic premises will help him build a race and start to finish races without trouble.

He needs to understand that a career is built over time, not in one race. He has impressed a lot of people this year but has spent a lot of time breaking down that good work through errors in judgement.

Perhaps a Mind coach is what he needs, a Yoda of sorts

[ArchAngel]

..."But how will he learn!" they all cry - Formula 1 doesn't owe this kid anything, it's not a finishing school as Webber said and it's Grosjean's problem...

^ This.

Promotion or elevation into F1 from the lower racing series means the driver has already got the speed, race-craft & racing smarts largely figured out. Ergo, it doesn't really matter how Sunday drivers like us might fare under those conditions, because they aren't just regular drivers like you or me. People up & down the paddock, and not just armchair experts in forums, have already strongly aired their displeasure over Grosjean's penchant for first-lap wipeouts. So let's not make this out to be isolated lynch mobs forming inside F1 forums, with the rest of the F1 insiders completely calm & happy over how Grosjean has ruined many drivers/teams races over the course of the season.

[Websta]

It's not very helpful if everybody throws him around and points the finger at him, it will make it worse. Funny thing is how some people around here give their radical opinions, advices about awareness or what he has to do when they have very little or none actual racing experience. I would put one of this "radical expert" guys in a european karting final with 30 of the best guys on the continent fighting for the title to see what he does and to point finger and throw him around.

You are saying we shouldn't be harsh on a racing driver because their job is difficult? If my skills in my profession were not up to scratch, I would be sent back to school.

A lot of us have watched enough F1 to be able to make very reasonable judgements, and I don't think any of us would be biased against Romain as he is a likeable person. He is on very thin ice at the moment and needs to calm down at the starts, you don't have to be Ayrton Senna to see that.

Edit: grammar