Romain Grosjean, former Haas driver and current Formula 1 pundit for Canal+, issued a public apology to McLaren and Zak Brown after misunderstanding comments made by the McLaren team principal about Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend at the Madring.
Grosjean's sharp and emotional criticism during Sunday's live race broadcast drew widespread attention. He accused Brown of undermining Piastri's morale. "I saw a statement from Zak Brown about Lando Norris' lap, he cut Oscar Piastri to pieces with a pair of scissors and a chainsaw right there," Grosjean said at the time. He believed the remarks were harsh and could damage Piastri's confidence.
However, it later emerged that Brown never made those comments. In a post-qualifying interview on F1 TV, also featuring Juan Pablo Montoya, Jolyon Palmer, and Grosjean himself, Brown was actually praising Norris's performance. "The whole lap was amazing and Lando's just getting better and better and better," Brown said. "When you see a lap like that put down, you just go, 'he's a world champion'."
When asked by Montoya about the performance gap between his two drivers, Brown explained that Norris was on top form. "I think a) you got Lando on his A-plus game, right? So, I don't think there was anything left laptime-wise there. So, he found that. Oscar's been right there with him all weekend and just didn't get that same extra 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' as well."
Grosjean's comments on Canal+ during the live race broadcast did not go unnoticed and were widely shared and discussed on social media. This led the Frenchman to apologize on Sunday evening, explaining that he had indeed misunderstood Brown's comments. "Today, I made a comment on Canal+ regarding Zak Brown's comments about Oscar Piastri during an interview yesterday on F1 TV, which I was part of," he wrote. "I completely misunderstood his words and want to apologize."
This incident serves as a valuable lesson about the importance of verification in motorsport journalism, especially in the fast-paced era of social media. Grosjean, known for being vocal and passionate, showed integrity by openly admitting his mistake. Meanwhile, McLaren and Brown have yet to issue an official comment on the apology, but Grosjean's gesture is commendable.
The Spanish Grand Prix itself was fiercely contested, with Norris taking pole position and ultimately winning the race. The internal battle at McLaren between Norris and Piastri is heating up, and every statement from the team is scrutinized. Grosjean's misunderstanding only highlights the sensitive dynamics within the championship-winning team.
Moving forward, both Grosjean and McLaren will remain in the spotlight. Grosjean is expected to be more careful in expressing opinions, while McLaren will focus on defending their title. Clearly, this incident adds color to the drama-filled 2026 F1 season.
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