Alonso's Text Message After Near-Death Grosjean Crash Revealed

Friday, 15 December 2023 at 13:00

Romain Grosjean revealed the text message exchange between him and Fernando Alonso after the 2012 Spa incident.

The scary-looking first-turn crash during the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix is one of the most infamous incidents in the history of Formula One.

The first turn at Circuit de Spa Francorchamps is popular for providing a lot of carnage at the starts of Grand Prix races, but what Romain Grosjean caused in 2012 was one of the biggest incidents ever.

The French driver had a great start off the line when the lights in Spa turned green but then moved dangerously across the track to squeeze Lewis Hamilton, who had nowhere to go, which resulted in an utter mess.

Both drivers lost control of their cars and slid forward at dangerously high speed, collecting other drivers with them. Grosjean Lotus's car flew over Fernando Alonso in Ferrari very closely missing his head.

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In 2012, F1 cars had no Halo, which protects drivers' heads, and the French driver almost decapitated Alonso. Fortunately, everybody was safe in the end, the Lotus driver received a penalty in form of one race suspension.

In an interview with Formula 1, Grosjean reflected on the Belgian Grand Prix incident. While he accepted the penalty, he did not think such harsh penalty was deserved.

"Spa was a mistake. I accept the penalty, but I think the penalty was far too harsh. I’m not proud of it, but it’s part of it."

2012 was the first time since 1994 that an F1 driver was awarded a penalty of such high degree. Grosjean also revealed his text message conversation with the double World Champion after the race.

While the Spanish matador came very close to death during the 2012 race at Spa, he supported the French driver after his harsh penalty:

"I remember texting Fernando, ‘Sorry, I’m glad you’re okay.’ His answer was: ‘The penalty is too harsh, you will bounce back."