Grosjean blames Ricciardo for first lap accident

It was a short race for Lotus today, with both cars going out on the first lap and getting caught up in a chain reaction crash which also saw both McLarens leave the race.

Romain Grosjean explained the chain of events which caused the accident.

“There were a lot of cars into turn three,” said the Frenchman. “Daniel came in hard and hit me, and I collided with the Sauber on the outside, breaking the front wing and it created a puncture. The car went left and I hit Pastor which was a shame.”

Not only is it the teams home race, but although Grosjean is French, he is also one of only a few drivers to live in the UK as well, where he thanked the home fans.

“That was a very short race for the team and I feel for everyone here at Silverstone and at Enstone,” he said. “No-one likes to end a Grand Prix like that as so much effort goes into making and preparing the cars.”

Pastor Maldonado tried to continue in the second Lotus, but too had to retire on the first lap.

“There’s always a battle around tenth place if you’re in the mix, it was a good clean start but everyone is trying to make up places there,” he said. “I was surprised to be hit by Romain but he’s been caught by Ricciardo so it was a very confusing turn of events.”

“At first I thought I had a puncture and would be able to return to the pits and re-join the race but unfortunately the damage to the car was more serious than that and I had to retire.”

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