Romain Grosjean would have declined an offer to return to Formula 1 with Haas if the team had reached out to him.
Romain Grosjean raced with the Haas F1 team from 2016 to 2020. His last year in the team ended with a dramatic fiery crash in Bahrain.
He left Formula 1 following his deadly crash and joined the IndyCar Series. Haas signed Grosjean’s former Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen as a replacement to Nikita Mazepin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Grosjean said that he would have declined an offer to return to F1 even if the team had approached him with an offer. He said, “A lot of people asked me if I would go back – I would not. I’m really happy in the United States, really happy in IndyCar.”
The Frenchman said that in IndyCar, he is excited every weekend to go racing and have a shot at winning. He admitted that he had an incredible career in F1 and it was a huge part of his life but he does not wish to return.
“Right now I’m onto the next chapter and the next chapter is about winning races and trying to win championships. So I would not have answered positively to the phone call.”
Also Read: Kevin Magnussen talks about his return to Formula 1 with Haas for the first time since his comeback
Mazepin was driving for Haas because he brought money
Grosjean drove with Haas’ new signing – Magnussen – for four years. The two of them had a number of disagreements on the track in the Haas team.
However, the Frenchman expressed delight at his return to the sport. He described the Danish driver as fast and versatile. Furthermore, Grosjean admitted that he and Magnussen did not always get off on the right foot.
“I think it’s awesome, I’m so happy for Kevin. He’s such a great guy, we didn’t always get on nicely, we kind of had a different view on racing with teammates. We banged wheels a few times on the race track. And we talked through what we were thinking [as] team-mates, and from there it was very smooth,” Grosjean said.
Furthermore, the 35-year-old believes that the reason why Mazepin was driving for Haas was that he was bringing huge sponsorship money.
Talking about Schumacher, Grosjean said that the young German will have a well-experienced teammate in Magnussen. “Kevin’s strength is that he can always drive the car the way it is,” he further added.
“He will do with it, it doesn’t need to be perfect for him to go fast. He’ll deal with the car. I hope Haas is going to give him a competitive car. I’m worried it’s not going to be that competitive, but who knows, I hope I’m wrong. I hope for Kevin he can get some fights at the front.”
Also Read: Haas driver Kevin Magnussen speaks about his emphatic return to Formula 1
