RED BULL’S MARK WEBBER angrily branded Romain Grosjean a “first-lap nutcase” and said his driving was “embarrassing” Sunday after the Frenchman shunted him off the track at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Grosjean drove into Webber, who started from second on the grid, just seconds into the race and span his Red Bull car, costing him the chance of a podium finish.
Webber had to scramble to rejoin the race and then make a pit stop for running repairs, returning at the back of the field before racing hard to finish ninth.
Grosjean, who was slapped with a one-race ban over a first-corner crash in Belgium, was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty in the pits. But Webber suggested the Lotus driver might need another “holiday”, or ban.
“I haven’t obviously seen what happened at the start, but the guys confirmed that it was the first-lap nutcase again — Grosjean,” Webber said.
“The rest of us are trying to fight for some decent results each weekend, but he is trying to get to the third corner as fast as he can at every race.
“It makes it frustrating because a few big guys probably suffered from that and maybe he needs another holiday.
“He needs to have a look at himself. It was completely his fault. How many mistakes can you make? How many times can you make the same error? First-lap incidents… yeah… it’s quite embarrassing at this level for him.”
Red Bull team chief Christian Horner said Lotus might have to consider how to deal with Grosjean’s recurring problems at the first corner.
“I think the most concerning thing is when it is repeat incidents,” he said. “If you make mistakes, that’s fine, but the key thing is to learn from them.
“He’s hosing away points for his team, they are fighting in the constructors’ championship and I would be surprised if they were too impressed by that.
“Seven incidents this year is more than enough. Mark was a victim of the action today and that cost him at least a podium.”
Grosjean, 26, admitted that the incident was a “stupid crash.”
“I was trying to avoid making any contact, but it didn’t work,” said the Frenchman, adding: “We ticked all of the worst boxes again — and maybe I need to have a few whiskeys and get some luck that way!”
