“Never say never,” Romain Grosjean ‘absolutely’ interested in returning to Formula 1 with Andretti
Romain Grosjean, who currently drives for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar, is 'absolutely' interested in getting involved in the team's F1 project.
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Romain Grosjean
Romain Grosjean’s last Formula 1 season ended rather early after his ‘Fireball’ crash in Bahrain meant he couldn’t participate in the last two races. His contract wasn’t renewed for 2021. Kevin Magnussen’s contract wasn’t renewed either, and both found themselves out of Formula 1. Grosjean went to IndyCar, with Magnussen spending some time in the IMSA (with a cameo in IndyCar). Now, the Dane’s back in F1, and there’s a chance Grosjean could as well.
Currently, he’s contracted to drive for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar. Andretti have also been pursuing a Formula 1 entry for some time (very publicly), and now have even teamed up with General Motors. There’s still a long way to go before they can hope to enter their team, but the GM (Cadillac) partnership is a big boost – both in terms of appeal and performance. Mario Andretti has earlier stated that Colton Herta would ‘99%’ be in the team, but that they will need someone with more experience alongside him.
The main goal for them is to have an experienced driver alongside a young driver, and ‘at least one’ American driver. Considering his 9 (almost) full seasons in Formula 1, Grosjean has got experience in spades. When asked by The Race if he will be interested in ‘getting involved’ (in any capacity) in Andretti’s F1 project, the Frenchman said: “Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of Formula 1, one thing I learned is never say never.”
Romain Grosjean: General Motors involvement is ‘great news’ for Andretti
Despite the fact that Andretti have partnered with an OEM in General Motors, their Formula 1 bid continues to meet opposition. Teams aren’t convinced that the $200M entry fee is enough to cover the revenue dilution, plus, there are reportedly also concerns that the GM involvement is a ‘badging exercise’. The vast majority of F1 teams seem to be opposed to their entry. But the FIA’s response, in particular, the response of Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been positive.
It’s possible that they will in fact be permitted to enter F1. Romain Grosjean thinks that the GM involvement is ‘great news’ for them, and hopes they’ll get in: “So yes, I think it’s great news for Andretti. They’re working really hard towards that goal so I really hope it’s going to happen. They’re definitely trying to make it happen. So that’s good. They’ve got the financial backing, they’ve got the constructor. So it’s interesting to see the way that the team is expanding and building.”
It’ll definitely be interesting to see if Andretti can convince the sport, the FIA (and the teams) to let them enter Formula 1. They will bring a lot more exposure to the sport, particularly in the USA, where F1 has been booming in the past few years. There will be three races there in the upcoming season. There’s never been a better time for a ‘real’ American team to get into the sport.
In case you missed it:
- “He drives like he’s 22,” Romain Grosjean admires Fernando Alonso’s energy to have a go at every race with full force despite being 40 plus
- “Few bits and pieces to improve, just like everywhere else,” Romain Grosjean disregards Max Verstappen’s complaints against Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans
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Aniket Tripathi
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