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.

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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.

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“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

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“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?”

Photos from Indy 500 – Thursday

Josef Newgarden , Team Penske Chevrolet

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Borg Warner Trophy

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Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

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Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

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Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

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Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

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Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

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Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet,  Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

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Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

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Driver coach Ryan Briscoe with Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

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Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

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Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

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Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Honda

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Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

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Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

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David Malukas, Team Penske Chevrolet

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Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

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Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

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Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

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Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

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Helio Castroneves , Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda

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Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

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Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Honda

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Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

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Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

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Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Honda

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Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

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Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

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Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

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Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Honda

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Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global Honda

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Josef Newgarden , Team Penske Chevrolet

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Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

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Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Honda

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Katherine Legge, HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet

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Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

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