After surviving the horrific Bahrain GP crash last year, the motorsport fandom thought Romain Grosjean would never be seen in the cockpit of a Formula One car ever again. But the Haas driver defied the odds, and is making a dream return to F1 with Mercedes!
Following a seven-month recovery period as well as missing the last two races of the 2020 season, Grosjean will get behind the steering wheel of Mercedes and will be seen taking part in a one-off test for the world champions.
So excited to jump back in an F1 car: Grosjean to drive Hamilton’s W10 at French GP
During his recovery period in the hospital last year, the French-Swiss driver was reached out by the Mercedes CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff, promising Grosjean that the Bahrain crash was not going to be the final chapter of his F1 career.
Needless to say, the Mercedes team boss has kept his promise and on 29th June, Grosjean will be witnessed driving Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 championship-winning W10 for a full-day test at the French Grand Prix venue Circuit Paul Ricard.
Moreover, a couple of days prior to the 2021 French GP this year, Grosjean will be driving the W10 for a series of demonstration laps on the circuit and had already finished up with his seat fit and simulator session at Mercedes’ Brackley factory back in March.
“I am so excited to jump back in an F1 car!” Grosjean was quoted on the team’s official website, “it will be a special opportunity for me and to drive a world championship-winning Mercedes will be a unique experience.”
“I’m very grateful to Mercedes F1 and to Toto for the opportunity,” the 35-year-old went on, “the first I heard about the chance to drive a Mercedes was in my hospital bed in Bahrain when Toto was speaking to the media and made the invitation. Read that news cheered me up a lot!“
Grosjean, who spoke up about the importance of a proper assessment of how motorsport crashes impact the brain last December, showed his eagerness to hit the French circuit this year, which had to be canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“F1 didn’t get the chance to race in France during 2020 because of Covid, so driving a Mercedes at the French Grand Prix in 2021 and then completing a test at the Circuit Paul Ricard, my home track, will be so special. I can’t wait for the day to arrive,” added Grosjean.
In the first lap of the 2020 Bahrain GP, Grosjean had made contact with AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat and crashed his Haas VF-20 into the barrier. Upon impact, the car split into two and immediately burst into flames, which left Grosjean with burns on his hands and ankles. However, he was able to climb out o the wreckage himself and luckily did not sustain any fractures.
