Grosjean and Palmer blame each other for first lap crash

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Stewards of the Russian Grand Prix took no action against either Romain Grosjean or Jolyon Palmer following the pair's first lap collision.

Shortly after the start of the race as the tail end of the field plunged towards Turn 2, Palmer took the racing line into the corner, flanked by a Sauber on his left and with Grosjean's Haas trailing on his right.

The Renault driver was touched by the Haas, got out of shape and then collided again with Grosjean, sending both men out of contention.

"I had a decent-enough start then heading down to turn two there was a Sauber on my outside then Romain made a very ambitious move over the kerbs on the inside from behind," Palmer explained.

"There was no space for me to go because of the Sauber, so maybe Romain wasn’t aware of that, but he kept it in, hit me, then we were both out of the race."

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The Frenchman saw things differently from his own vantage point.

"We had a great start and I was on the inside of Palmer under braking," he explained.

"I don’t know why he turned in."

“I was there and then he turned in. I tried to get as much as I could on the apex, but he just hit me, spun and came back and hit me again. The car was badly damaged and our race was over."

The stewards did not point the finger at either driver however, ruling that "no driver was wholly or predominately to blame for the collision".

The mishap capped an incident-filled weekend for Palmer which included a chassis change, an engine change and a crash of his own making in qualifying.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.