Sepang circuit pays compensation for Grosjean's drain cover crash

Insurer's for the Sepang International Circuit has made a payment of compensation to Haas F1 for damage to Romain Grosjean's car in a crash last season. The Haas driver crashed heavily in practice for the final Malaysian Grand Prix after a loose drain cover hit his car and caused him to spin into the barriers.

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner confirmed to the media on Thursday ahead of the Russian Grand Prix that the team had finally received compensation with a payment from the circuit made 13 months after the incident occurred.

“We settled, the insurance was very good to deal with and we are happy. The insurance was very professional, they stood up for their responsibility.

“It’s (been) a year now roughly, it’s a long time this case. I think it’s the first (time) something like this happened.

“It got sorted, they were good to deal with. There were so many parties involved as well. These things take always time. An insurance claim is never quick.”

Although the team finally received a payment, the figure was not revealed by Steiner who stated that the team was looking to cover the costs of the damage caused by the drain cover crash and nothing more.

“We were not looking for anything else. They agreed it wasn’t our felt, there was something that went wrong and that’s why they have insurance.”