A frustrated Romain Grosjean hit out at Pirelli’s “poor” Hypersoft tyre and criticised Sergey Sirotkin’s “go-kart racing” as he missed out on points in Singapore.
Grosjean progressed through to Q3 and lined up in eighth position, meaning that he had to start on Hypersofts, having used the compound to clock his best time in Q2.
That meant he had to make an early stop for Soft tyres and he was overcut by those who were eliminated in Q2 but were permitted free compound choice.
The drivers who finished seventh, eighth and ninth – Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc – all started from outside the top 10 but ran long on Ultrasofts to move into the points.
“I think it was a frustrating race for everyone who qualified between seventh and 10th on the Hypersofts,” said Grosjean.
“It was such a poor tyre in the race. We did 10 laps and they completely went, while the Ultrasofts did, I don’t know how many laps, 40?
“So, it’s almost better not to qualify in the top 10.
“Maybe we need to think about that a little bit because I felt like I pushed really hard in qualifying and in the race every single lap.
“I did the best I could but, in the end, I had no chance of being in the top 10.”
Grosjean went on to classify in 15th position, having been handed a five-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags while battling with Sirotkin.
“I’m sorry if I blocked anyone, it was not my intention,” he said.
“I believe I did my best. I was fighting with Sergey, who was doing a little bit of go-kart racing out there. I couldn’t really slow down.
“Pierre [Gasly] was on my gearbox and Sergey was on my front wing. I passed him, then as soon as I passed him, I let Lewis [Hamilton] by.”
Grosjean was also issued with two penalty points, bringing his rolling 12-month total to nine, just three away from a one-race ban.
