Romain Grosjean has issued a public apology to Zak Brown after misinterpreting the McLaren boss's comments about Oscar Piastri. The incident occurred at the Spanish Grand Prix, where Grosjean was working as a pundit for Canal+ and also appeared on F1 TV.
The confusion began when Grosjean was on screen with Brown during an F1 TV interview after qualifying at the Madring. At that time, Lando Norris secured pole position, while Piastri could only manage seventh, four tenths adrift of his teammate.
In that interview, Brown praised Norris, saying he was on his A-plus game and that there was no more lap time left. He also noted that Piastri had been competitive all weekend but just didn't get the same extra performance on that lap.
However, the next day while commentating for Canal+, Grosjean claimed that Brown had heavily criticized Piastri, adding that Brown had said Norris is a world champion and a better driver than Piastri. This claim was clearly not in line with Brown's actual words.
Realizing his mistake, on Sunday evening Grosjean posted an apology on social media. He admitted he had misunderstood Brown's words. "Today, I made a comment on Canal Plus F1 regarding Zak Brown's comments about Oscar Piastri during an interview yesterday on F1 TV, which I was part of. I completely misunderstood his words and want to apologise for that. I know how important it is to Zak and the entire McLaren team to respect their drivers and treat them fairly and equally," he wrote.
Grosjean also highlighted McLaren's misfortune in the Spanish race. He noted that McLaren had the fastest car but were unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car (VSC). "I'm sure both Lando and Oscar will have another chance to fight for the win in Baku," he added.
Indeed, unfortunate VSC timing and a long pit stop deprived Norris and McLaren of a win in Madrid. The reigning World Champion eventually had to settle for third place. Nevertheless, McLaren's overall performance remains promising for upcoming races.
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