Michael Andretti saw his four drivers touch wheels at the Mid-Ohio GP, with the highlight being the incident between Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean, which generated strong complaints from the Frenchman
Scott McLaughlin won the Mid-Ohio GP last Sunday (3), but all the attention after the race was on Andretti and not the New Zealander from Penske. All four drivers in Michael Andretti's squad were involved in incidents with a teammate, but none of them generated as many sparks as the collisions between Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean.
The American ended up taking the Frenchman's space twice, and in the second time Romain ended up on the wall and the yellow flag was triggered. The accident angered the former Haas driver in Formula 1, who called his teammate "idiot" after the race. In the view of the driver of the #27 car, the touch was just a normal racing incident.
Romain didn't even cross the finish line on the track, he went straight to the pits on the final lap and crossed the paddock still wearing his helmet. The tension also reached the engineers, with Grosjean denying to protect Rossi at the end of the race and being reminded on the radio that he was one lap behind.
DeFrancesco was also touched by Alexander, who is leaving the team for McLaren after seven seasons, and also had problems with Romain. Over the radio Rob Edwards, Andretti's director of operations and his strategist, said "let him through. He's a lap behind on the red tires, and he's being a shit.
The mood in the team after the race was the worst possible, and Michael Andretti had to gather everyone together for an unfriendly talk. "It was not a happy message. It wasn't just today, but everything came to a boil today. The personalities are not matching up and they are taking it to the track, which is a big problem," the Andretti boss told the IndyStar website.
Andretti was also seen having a disagreement with Rossi's father, Pieter, in the paddock. "I understand, I understand, today was not a good day," said the driver's father. "It hasn't been, and it's been worse, and today was the culmination of that. And I've had it," Michael complained.
The four drivers live in an 'every man for himself' atmosphere within the team, but no rivalry seems as strong as that between Rossi and Grosjean. The Frenchman's driving style has generated complaints at Indy. At Alabama, Graham Rahal complained after being touched and went to discuss the matter with Alexander. The new chapter between the two at Mid-Ohio did not surprise McLaughlin: "This has been growing during the year.
The matter must now be handled internally by Michael Andretti. The team returns to the track on July 17 for the Toronto GP, with full coverage by GRANDE PRÊMIO.