When Romain Grosjean was fined $50,150 and was banned from the 2012 Italian GP

Romain Grosjean crashed into five other drivers on the grid causing a massive accident as the lights went out at the 2012 Belgian GP.

Many in the F1 community believe that the massive crash caused by Romain Grosjean at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix is the reason why Fernando Alonso missed out on his third F1 championship.

Alonso was leading the championship by 40 points before this race over the Red Bull duo. The DNF at the Belgian GP combined with a subsequent accident at the Japanese GP caused a huge loss of points for the Spaniard.

At the Spa circuit in 2012, Williams driver Pastor Maldonado started his race before the lights went out. Meanwhile, Lotus’ Grosjean made a decent start and was trying to overtake Lewis Hamilton when he made contact with the Briton which resulted in a huge crash.

As soon as the tow drivers made contact, they lost control over their cars. Grosjean hit the back of Sergio Perez and became airborne and crashed directly into Alonso’s Ferrari, missing the Spaniard’s head by only a few inches.

At the same time, Hamilton crashed into Kobayashi and Alonso after taking a heavy hit. Pérez lost his rear wing and touched Maldonado making him spin.

Also Read: George Russell confident of beating 103 race winning Lewis Hamilton in rookie season

Romain Grosjean received a fine and fan

In the aftermath of the horrific crash, Grosjean was issued a fine of $50,150 and a one-race ban from the upcoming 2012 Italian GP. The French driver was charged for initiating the crash in the opening lap of the race.

“[I had] a very good start and then boom – it was the end of the race. I haven’t seen the images and I need to see them have any point of view,” Grosjean had said at the time.

“But the main thing is that everybody is OK. That is the most important for me.”

Also Read: When Toto Wolff refused to reunite Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at Mercedes