‘I hated that paddock as much as I loved it’- Romain Grosjean explains he had a complicated relationship with F1.

Romain Grosjean after serving nine years in Formula 1 has left the space while giving his last years to Haas. Though the end to his career came with a tragic end.

His horrific crash made him lose his farewell race. However, ahead of the Sakhir Grand Prix, Grosjean visited the paddock and had a new realization.

“I’ll miss some things, like the people I’ve been working with,” he told Motorsport.com.

“My chief Haas engineer, Ayao Komatsu, is someone I have worked with since 2009. He was with me at Lotus and then he accompanied me when I went to Haas. And there are many other people I have worked with over many years who are also I will miss.

“But when I left the paddock in Bahrain, I said to myself, ‘I hated that paddock as much as I loved it,’ and it’s that what I’ve missed the most in recent years has been the opportunity to win races.

“It’s something that I want to meet with Dale Coyne. He’s giving me a great opportunity here. ”

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IndyCar is the new Racing destination for Romain Grosjean

It was recently revealed that Grosjean would be making his debut in the IndyCar series. Grosjean further shares his anticipated thoughts ahead of the massive shift.

“While doing a stationary bike in front of the TV, I watch the IndyCar channel on YouTube – it’s really good, with 30 minute recaps or full race replays – of 2020, 2019 and 2018.”

He further goes onto criticize the  competitive level of Formula 1, which has been subject to hegemonic eras for the past couple of decades.

“I have to say they are pure races that I love since many years when I came, and that I missed lately. In Formula 1, you don’t even realise that you are competing in the same championship as Mercedes.

“Knowing that basically everyone has the same car, the same opportunities, is something that I have missed. And then knowing that if you have a difficult qualifying or a problem at the beginning of the race, you as a driver can make a difference because cars they are very even or the team can help you to make a difference with the strategy.”

“So even though Dale Coyne has a smaller team than Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, the cars are more or less the same. So if we work well together and I take advantage of my experience, we will be able to compete.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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