“Let’s have no BS between us” – Romain Grosjean had the opportunity to race with Kimi Raikkonen as his teammate in Lotus in his rookie 2012 season.
Kimi Raikkonen is a man of few words, something his former Lotus teammate Romain Grosjean can vouch for.
Grosjean and Raikkonen partnered for Lotus in 2012, and the latter was straight to the point with what he expected between them. The Frenchman has shed light on the initial conversation they had, and his admiration for the 2007 World Champion.
“His conversation was definitely the opposite of his career: short!
“But it was open, you know. We could share everything, and it was quite good.
“I remember when I got confirmed, he sent me a text message – and that was late 2011. And the text message was: ‘Happy for you, let’s have no BS between us, see you soon.’
“That was Kimi. Straight to the point, no long sentences, he just wanted to go and have fun racing – I admire that.
“Obviously in the last few years, he doesn’t have a good car, so he can only do what he can, but Kimi has been one of the greatest drivers of the last 20 years.”
How is Grosjean doing after horror crash in Bahrain?
Grosjean suffered injuries to both his hands after the fireball crash in Sakhir last season, leading to a premature end to his F1 career. That hasn’t stopped him from racing, however, as he was seen competing in the IndyCar series.
The former Haas driver has revealed the condition of his hands, and what he is doing to bring it back to normalcy, as much as it is possible.
“The right hand is absolutely 100 percent good. I just need to put some sun cream on when I go in the sun as it’s kind of brand-new skin.
“The left hand is the one that got a little bit more damaged. I still have to do a skin graft in early November and there could be one more in 2022, so there’s still a bit of work to be done.
“It’s never going to be perfect. It is painful, but you learn to live with it. It’s not a huge pain, [but] it’s there all the time.
“To be fair, I can play with my kids, I can drive a car, I can live pretty much normally. There’s a couple of things where I’m slightly restricted, but I would say 95 percent works well.
“It’s not good looking, but that’s my soldier mark.”
