Why Colin McRae would sympathise with Romain Grosjean

For an hour and 18 minutes, Romain Grosjean raced hard to finish sixth at Monza, fending off Carlos Sainz in the early laps and coping with worn tyres to deal with the persistent presence of Esteban Ocon in the second half of the Italian Grand Prix. It brought the Haas driver his joint second-best finish this year; an excellent result in a season that has been disappointing and, at times, controversial.

Then it was all taken away, the eight points wiped out at the stroke of an official pen after the Haas was found to have an illegal floor.

This should have been no surprise. Haas had altered their reference plane and associated aero parts for the Canadian Grand Prix in June. In order to…