When the Punishment Doesn't Fit The Crime

By all accounts, the first corner incident at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix was spectacular but extremely dangerous (and upsetting to nearly all fans), but that;s just what it was, a first corner / racing incident.

It is not unusual to see one driver pushing another 'off track' at the race start. All drivers from Pastor Maldonado to Sebastian Vettel have done it. Romain Grosjean was not even the first driver to make contact before the first corner at a race but he is the one that was handed the most severe penalty.

Given that the drivers and fans have had five weeks off and away from the track, it was only plausible that tension was running high. The adrenaline, the excitement and the nervousness must have been physically felt in the air. The entire world was waiting on that Sunday for those lights to go green.

                

After watching and re-watching the first corner incident between Grosjean, Hamilton, Alonso and Perez, all I see is an incident. Yes, the results were not typical to this sort of 'thing', four drivers out of the race before the first corner... Literally (which included the current driver's title leader) but that is Formula One. Anything and everything can happen, especially at Belgium's infamous Spa-Francorchamps. What I could not comprehend is why the FIA decided to give Romain Grosjean a one race suspension. It seems that the punishment did not fit the crime. Jean Eric Vergne crashed into Heikki Kovalainen at the 2012 European Grand Prix and was only given a 10 place grid penalty. Pastor Maldonado has multiple times forced his way back onto track, into a corner or off the line and found himself (and his car) in the side of another and only received a slight punishment.

Yes, Grosjean is a rookie in the paddock but he is the one rookie that has proven himself worthy of the seat given to him. The one rookie that demonstrated that he belongs in Formula One. The are more dangerous drivers on the grid than Grosjean. They have committed the same 'crime' but still have yet to receive the same 'punishment'. It just happens to be that these other drivers did not result in such a memorable result.

After seeing Romain Grosjean lose his seat for a weekend, I just hope that Bernie and the rest of his FIA crew keep up to their word and the next driver to cause am accident (whether it be a racing incident or a purposeful collision) will also see a race suspension.

Sorry that this is a little long winded and more personal than normal on this website, it is just in the opinion of this writer that the race suspension for Romain Grosjean was just completely uncalled for. Please accept my apologies.