Reigning series champion Will Power called Romain Grosjean a “piece of crap” and said Grosjean needed a “punch in the face” in a spectacular rant following his early exit from Road America IndyCar qualifying.
Team Penske’s Power started the day by being smashed into a wall by Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon who spun and didn’t see Power from behind as he tried to move across the race track, taking them both out. Power then shoved Dixon after getting out of his car in the aftermath, and Dixon later apologised to NBC TV.
Then in qualifying, returnee Ryan Hunter-Reay crashing at Turn 14 late on in the second group of Q1 stopped any drivers from improving as there wasn’t enough time to generate suitable tyre temp, and Power ended up 23rd.
In that first practice, before Dixon took him out, Power had been blocked on the back straight by Andretti Autosport’s Grosjean, who he was not asked about in the post-qualifying interview he gave, but he decided to take aim at the ex-Formula 1 driver anyway.
The first of two incidents for @12WillPower in Practice 2.#INDYCAR // #SonsioGP pic.twitter.com/wPdRR1HWTd
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 17, 2023
“This track’s terrible when you go off, they do a terrible job here, they need to pick up their game, anywhere you go off you almost break your back every time, done it a couple of times this weekend,” ranted Power to NBC.
“Need a kick in the butt for this place.
“Just pissed, what Dixon did this morning has ruined our whole weekend, just a terrible move.
“The guys did a great job, fortunately we had a screwdriver in there and were sort of able to get it going, the team did a fantastic job.
“We got out there, I did everything I could man, it’s just so hard in this field if you’re behind the eight-ball. You’re not sure about the aero balance will be. Man, frustrating because I felt like we were really quick this morning. Disappointed with what happened.
“And Grosjean is a piece of crap if you saw what he did in practice. He needs a punch in the face.”
👀👀👀
📺: @peacock| #SonsioGP pic.twitter.com/XqcAtvOmab
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 17, 2023
Grosjean bumped wheels with Power’s team-mate Josef Newgarden at the last race in Detroit, and has upset drivers in the past for his brand of sometimes aggressive driving, although he has remained mostly out of trouble in what has been an impressive 2023 for him in many ways.
Grosjean himself said there was something wrong with his car, telling his crew on the radio it didn’t matter what was changed, it was broken, and he will start 19th at one of his favourite tracks.
Dixon qualified 23rd after struggling with his backup car. It’s the first time Dixon has qualified outside of the top nine this season after eight races, in what has been a qualifying renaissance for the six-time champion.
