Romain Grosjean explains Marcus Armstrong confrontation, wasn't looking for a fight

Following the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Romain Grosjean approached Marcus Armstrong’s pit box with some fiery comments, and a heated back-and-forth broke out with several crew members initially pushing him back.

The issue surrounded some mid-race contact, which robbed Grosjean of a strong finish and resulted in a drive-through penalty for Armstrong.

Here’s a look back at some of the exchange:

Reflecting on it days later at IMS, Grosjean spoke with a media scrum that included Motorsport.com, and pointed out that he wasn’t actually looking to fight Armstrong.

“So, I wasn’t angry,” explained Grosjean. “I think the whole thing got misinterpreted because some people that had no right to be involved, got involved. Marcus crashed into me, got a drive through for it. Ruined my race. It was a top five, easy. It’s no better. So we had a discussion.

“I said, I want to punch you, as a joke. And then that’s when mechanics got involved and started pushing me back. All I wanted was to speak with Marcus. And they keep pushing me back and pushing me back. So, as I said, it was a discussion between drivers. And they got misinterpreted.

“Yeah, I put my arms behind my back just to show them I’m not here to fight. And they keep pushing me back. Kind of telling me to fuck off and get off the box. Well, they don’t own the box. IMS does. Anyway, as I say, it’s past. I would have just liked an ‘I apologize, I made a mistake. I got a drive-through. Sorry I ruined your day.’ End of the story.

Grosjean is a driver known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and it’s something he doesn’t shy away from

“We’re not saving the world,” noted Grosjean. “We’re entertaining. We are passionate. We do things that we’re very lucky to do. But if there’s no emotion in sports, what’s the point of sports?”