Graham Rahal says Romain Grosjean has 'overstayed his welcome' after multiple bumps at Barber

LEEDS, Ala. – In St. Pete, Takuma Sato and Romain Grosjean “agreed to disagree” when the latter came flying down the back straight, unaware of a several-car stack-up at the entrance to a slow 90-degree turn as drivers tried to create space for a qualifying sim. The brand-new Andretti Autosport driver couldn’t slam on the brakes in time and slammed into the back of a virtually stationary Sato.

But Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, Graham Rahal was in no mood for any sort of agreement with a driver he felt purposefully ran into him not once, but twice in a matter of seconds with four laps to go while the pair fought for 7th place on-track.

What’s more is the veteran IndyCar driver says he’s not alone in his staunch belief that the series’ most popular driver “is a punk," as Rahal said over his in-car radio Sunday.

“I won’t name them, but as another driver in the series told me, ‘You can’t teach old dogs new tricks,’ and it’s kinda been his reputation over his whole career in Europe, and we’re learning his reputation quickly here,” Rahal said post-race. “To me, if race control doesn’t want to do anything, they’re not going to do anything, but when we go punt him, they better not do anything to me.

“In the past, I’ve been penalized for a lot less.”

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On pitlane after the race, Rahal said he expected the Andretti driver to dive inside in Turn 5 while Rahal tried to execute an outside move on Scott McLaughlin just a couple car lengths ahead – one he’d been working making stick for several laps to try and grab 6th. As Grosjean broke late and approached Rahal, to where the former’s left-rear tire was inches away from the latter’s right-front, they touched and both wobbled with more than a car’s width of track to the inside of Grosjean and just a few feet on the outside of Rahal.

Moments later, with Rahal’s right-side tires nearly off the track, the RLL driver felt Grosjean drove straight into him once again. For the moment, Rahal emerged still in the lead, but he’d later be forced to give up the spot as he nearly ran out of fuel coming to the checkered flag.

“I just think it’s clear watching the in-car camera. Look at the angle of his head. To me, when I can see in the mirror his head is directed this way (Rahal motioned to the right) when the track is going this way (then he gestured to the left signifying the hard left-hand turn the incident came in), it’s pretty self-explanatory,” Rahal said.

“And then we’re already in the straight. Why are you turning into me? First, he releases the car to hit me, and then ‘BOOM’ when we’re straight.”

After he got out of his car, Rahal, was noticeably gassed but found Grosjean’s Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi, who also had a run-in with Grosjean on Sunday, as did Andretti’s Colton Herta. Gesturing with his right forearm, Rahal threw it into Rossi’s left arm repeatedly, as if to signify the two times he and Grosjean touched. After nearly a minute’s discussion, the pair walked back toward pitlane, Rossi wearing a smile after letting out a couple chuckles.

Interviewed on Peacock’s post-race show, Grosjean said he felt the late-race contact was just “good racing.”

“It’s IndyCar. It’s wheel-to-wheel racing,” he said. “I think it’s just hard racing. I was later on the brakes than he was, and there was a bit more grip on the outside. I was a bit deep in the corner. It was a gentle touch. Because it’s so hard to pass, there’s a lot of wheel-banging.”

To IndyStar, Grosjean said, “I thought he turned into me. He thought I turned into him. Not much we can do. The track kinks a little bit in, and we were both trying to go. It’s IndyCar racing. I got pushed a couple times in the grass before that. That’s just the way we do racing here.”

In response to the notion his racing this year has been overly aggressive, Grosjean responded, “I don’t think so. I finished the race in one piece.”

Along with Sunday, as well as St. Pete this year when a couple drivers came away with lesser contact from the No. 28 in the season-opener, Grosjean also notably banged wheels with Jimmie Johnson in the corkscrew at Laguna Seca last year trying to hunt down Herta, and he was at the impetus of massive chaos at the start of Portland the weekend before when he overshot the braking zone in Turn 1 of Lap 1.

During his first full Formula 1 season with Lotus in 2012, Grosjean was suspended for the Italian Grand Prix stemming from a multi-car Lap 1 crash in the Belgian Grand Prix he was ruled to have caused. In a statement, the FIA said of the incident, “The stewards regard this incident as an extremely serious breach of the regulations, which had the potential to cause injury to others.” Grosjean was the first driven banned from a race in 18 years.

“I’m very sorry, and I’m just glad nobody is hurt,” he said after that race a decade ago.

Rahal’s reaction, which ultimately didn’t affect his finishing position in the race, was notably different than his public position immediately following his race-ending crash at Texas Motor Speedway caused by Andretti rookie Devlin DeFrancesco when the latter tried to push three-wide with part of his inside tires below the white line. The Canadian driver lost control and spun into Rahal, who then collected Helio Castroneves running above him. DeFrancesco was penalized by race control for the incident weeks later, losing six positions on the grid post-qualifying at Long Beach.

After he was checked and cleared from the medical center, Rahal went relatively easy on the crash’s instigator, saying they’d already spoken and he hoped he’d learn from it. Sunday, Rahal clearly had no such faith in Grosjean, telling IndyCar Radio, “We’re gonna have to have a little sit down, a little conversation about what the hell is going on here.

“I think the drivers need to get together – all of us – because I’m not the only one with a problem. This guy has overstayed his welcome.”

Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Graham Rahal and Romain Grosjean tangle at Alabama