Shock Fernando Alonso claim made by former F1 team-mate: 'I was not allowed to beat him'

Former F1 star Romain Grosjean has claimed that he was not allowed to beat Fernando Alonso during their time as Renault team-mates.

The pair drove alongside one another way back in 2009, with Grosjean having been brought in to replace Nelson Piquet Jr. after he failed to score points in any of the opening 10 grands prix that season.

It was a team-mate pairing which went on to be very short-lived, with Grosjean lasting just seven races before they gave him the boot at the end of that season as Alonso also departed for Ferrari.

Alonso dominated the then-rookie Grosjean, outqualifying him at all seven grands prix that they raced as team-mates. That dominance extended to races, with Grosjean finishing ahead of Alonso just once when the Spaniard suffered a DNF at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.

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Romain Grosjean 'not allowed' to beat Fernando Alonso at Renault

However, Grosjean has now said that he was not allowed to beat Alonso during their time with the team. Now, we hear team orders in F1 frequently, but that seems extreme.

The French driver did not elaborate much more than that, but made the shocking claim during a recent appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast.

“Most of the qualifying I was within Alonso’s time,” Grosjean said.

“And there were reasons behind it, why I should not beat Alonso, why I was not allowed to beat Alonso.

“And then, sadly, wrong place, wrong time, I would say."

Grosjean continued, revealing that he did not feel supported during that spell with the team.

”But there was no support for me," he added.

"I was just the fuse that they needed in the middle to get rid of."

Grosjean would eventually return to the team on a full-time basis in 2012 and spend several seasons there, albeit when the Enstone-based outfit had been rebranded as Lotus.

“But you know what, it was a great experience to step back down, come back, and come back in the same team," he reflected.

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