Romain Grosjean left F1 a long time ago but is yet to get used to a completely different world of racing over in the United States of America. Competing in IndyCar, Grosjean was handed a harsh reality check by Santino Ferrucci, who reminded the Frenchman that he wasn’t living a fairytale life anymore.
Grosjean had an incident with Ferrucci at the Sonsio Grand Prix in Indianapolis, wherein he allegedly drove into the latter’s car. Not holding back, Ferrucci returned the favor and flipped him off mid-session.
“It’s not Formula 1 anymore. You can hit people with these cars and be fine. You wanna turn into me when I have the inside. I’m not lifting.” , said Ferrucci.
“If he doesn’t like it, come over here and talk to me about it.”@SantinoFerrucci gives his take on this morning’s incident with @RGrosjean.#INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/hABkhm96r0
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 11, 2024
Ferucci is hinting at the fact that IndyCar is more aggressive than F1 as a whole. In F1, cars making the slightest bit of contact could end in race-ending damage for either driver. However, in the series Grosjean is taking part in now, drivers aren’t afraid of the same.
The 25-year-old American continued his scathing verbal attack on Grosjean. He told the former Haas F1 driver, “If he doesn’t like it, then come over here and talk to me.”
Ferucci adds that he doesn’t have anything against Grosjean. He labels him as a “nice dude” but asks him to respect his opponents on track more.
Romain Grosjean’s transition from F1 to IndyCar
Grosjean’s last F1 appearance was in Bahrain 2020, where an infamous crash marred the occasion. His car caught fire, and he miraculously escaped, much to the relief of the entire racing world. However, the injuries he sustained ruled him out of the subsequent two races of the season, and Haas didn’t renew his contract thereafter.
Grosjean, however, did not waste a lot of time on the sidelines. Not seeing much opportunity of making a comeback in Europe, the former Lotus-Renault driver packed his bags and hopped across the pond.
He made his IndyCar debut in 2021 with Dale Coyne Racing, moved to Andretti for two seasons the next year, and is currently competing for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Unfortunately, the 38-year-old has not tasted much success in America.
He has three pole positions and six podium finishes in 51 races, which isn’t bad for a driver who is new to the environment. However, Grosjean would have expected a better return, considering the wealth of experience he brought in from the world of F1.
