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Romain Grosjean says the apology from Scott McLaughlin for an incident which ruined both drivers’ St Petersburg races “means everything”.
For the second time in the 100-lap IndyCar season-opener, had McLaughlin exited the pits just ahead of the Andretti Autosport driver in the battle for the effective lead.
While they got away with light contact when the Team Penske driver had to defend at Turn 4 on the first occasion, he locked the rears the second time around and a harder wheel-to-wheel hit ensued.
Both cars ended up in the tyre barrier and Grosjean’s day was done on the spot, while McLaughlin would going on to finish a lap down in 13th after serving a drive-through penalty for the coming-together.
He also committing to seeking out Grosjean to apologise, a promise fulfilled in the hours after the race.
“The #28 Honda was strong,” said the aggrieved Frenchman.
“We had a lot of support her from [naming rights sponsor] DHL this weekend and we wanted that win.
“We all race, we all make mistakes. Scott came over and apologised, which means everything to me.
“He did get a penalty; unfortunately. That doesn’t really change anything for my race, but the fact that he comes here and says he’s sorry is a big deal.”
It was a bitter afternoon for the Andretti team, which locked out the front row courtesy of Grosjean and Colton Herta, yet lost one of its four cars on the first lap and did not have another finish any higher than 15th.
“I know that we were the fastest car on track by a long way and that’s all that matters,” declared Grosjean, who qualified on pole by more than four tenths of a second.
“We were competitive, we were up there, and we have 16 races left.
“We showed with Andretti that we can be up there.”
While Car #28 was classified 18th on the day, its driver is 17th in the series standings courtesy of bonus points for pole position and leading at least one lap.
Race 2 is at Texas Motor Speedway on the weekend of April 1-2 (local time).
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